With Friends Like These
by 54Viruses
Summary: Two girls join forces in an attempt to do the impossible; write a decent fanfic with themselves as character models. Will they succeed or will their own combined madness overwhelm even the insane Dr. Elder?
1. In which Quinn Awakens

I do not own... ANYTHING!!!!! The turtles are not mine, the girl isn't mine, the loon at the beginning isn't mine, I didn't even write the thing!!!!

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her. *claps* The next chapter will be written by me but until then, give Cheshire a hand! You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

For those who are familiar with my writing, there is a slight language warning, but I doubt it'll be a problem.

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Chapter one; In which Quinn awakens...

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The first thing I noticed was that it was very, very cold. And then I opened my eyes and it was even brighter than it was cold. I groaned and shivered. What a wonderful way to wake up. And I was fairly certain it was a Monday as well. Great. Just great.

It wasn't until I sat up that my sense of touch awakened, and I promptly realized that I was sitting on something hard and cold and smooth and metal. And that I was nude. Totally, utterly without clothes. I let out something between a shriek and yelp and curled into a ball.

But the morning wasn't over yet. I felt something brush my back, tickling me, and I turned to see a giant, fluffy pink-and-purple tail. My eyes followed it back to where it grew out of the bottom of my spine.

What the hell.

This was, of course, the moment I reached up and found cat ears atop my head, nestled amidst significantly shorter hair. I froze, everything other than my hands unmoving as I traced the edges and contours of the ears. In the next thirty seconds I went on to discover wicked black claws in place of human nails, and a layer of half-inch-long, nearly invisible fur covering my entire body, giving my skin an alternating pink-and-purple tinge, striped to match the ears and tail.

Well, that was freaking great. I'd gone to bed just like I would have on any other Sunday night, and woken up as some kind of screwed up anthro Cheshire Cat. On what looked like an operating table in a blank white room. Naked. A normal person would've probably assumed it was a dream, or that they were going crazy, but I wasn't exactly a "normal" person. And, while I certainly hadn't anticipated becoming a cat-girl in my future, my overactive imagination and eccentric personality found it within their capabilities to accept this sudden, unexpected and totally unrealistic change. It was like a book, and while my imagination was having a field day, the rational part of me was screaming in terror. Together, they balanced out to a state of eerie calm.

The room was white, and completely empty except for the metal bench-table that I lay on. I breathed in slowly and listened hard for any sounds; I figured that since there was clearly no quick fix for my appearance, if there even was one, I might as well put my new body to use.

There were slight noises coming from beyond the only door, and a lingering chemical smell hung around the room. I didn't know what was going on, or how I'd gotten there, but I knew I needed to get out, fast. This place made me feel anxious, apprehensive. The air felt…wrong.

I slipped off the metal, surprising myself with my own gracefulness as I landed easily on the floor and walked soundlessly to the door. I managed, after a few unsuccessful tries, to cover myself using my mercifully semi-prehensile, poofy tail.

I was three steps from the door when it flew open, slamming into the wall. Something in me reacted and I bristled, lips pulling back in a snarl as my fur stood on end. I was glaring at the man in the doorway before my brain had even registered that he was there. The man seemed not to notice and set about circling me like a vulture. He smelled like deodorant and cologne and the chemical scent that had already been in the room.

A sinking feeling settled into the pit of my stomach and pressed down on my shoulders. He was muttering incoherent phrases of words and generally treating me like I had no mind of my own, that he didn't care about invading my personal space because as far as he was concerned, I had none.

Like I was some kind of specimen.

He reached out to touch my ears and I acted on reflex, jumping back and hissing like a cat—which, in part, I was. My nose wrinkled and my ears flattened down against my skull.

"Who are you?" I spat, asking the first thing that came to mind. I froze at the sound of my own voice. It definitely hadn't sounded like…_that_…before.

"You can talk," he said, and then grinned, looking positively delighted. A shiver ran down my spine. He straightened, looking down at me with pale green eyes. They scared me. _He_ scared me. "My name is Dr. Elder, and you are my first successful experiment. First experiment at all, actually." He giggled, and my blood ran cold. I took a step back.

"Oh, don't worry," he cooed. "I won't hurt you. I never hurt my children."

He was insane. I had to leave. _Now_.

"I want to leave." My voice shook. Damn.

He frowned. "But why would you want to leave? I'm your father. I'm the only one that understands you, the only one who loves you. The rest of society will judge, misunderstand. To them, you are a freak of nature. To me, you are a miracle. My first child, my eldest, dearest daughter." He reached out to touch my face, and I recoiled, cat instincts kicking in again. I leapt up onto the steel table and hissed at him, arching my back. He sobered, looking almost pitiable.

"Very well," he murmured. "I won't stop you from leaving, if that's what you want. But remember that I will always be here, and that this will always be your home." He left momentarily and returned with a bundle of clothes. "Wear these. Go down the hall, turn left, and make the first right. The exit is at the end of the hall."

I blinked numbly at him as he left. I could leave? Just like that, no strings attached? It definitely seemed to good to be true, and probably was, but if there was even the slightest chance I could be permanently rid of this place, I wasn't about to pass it up.

The clothes turned out to be a fairly baggy pair of sweat pants (the cheap kind), a generic t-shirt, clunky hiking boots, and a several-sizes-too-big hoodie. There were gloves and a hat, too, which were probably only for the purposes of covering up my more obviously catlike features. The Elder guy had also thought to include underwear, but I decided not to wear those, knowing they'd been in his possession. I dressed quickly, tucked my tail into the leg of my sweat pants and practically ran down the hall, turning into another hall, then another, and finally bursting through a door at the end of the third hall into the crisp Autumn air.

It was when I saw the huge towering buildings and street vendors that everything finally sank in. I was half-Cheshire Cat, and the madman who had supposedly created me thought I was his daughter. And now I was all alone in what looked like New York City, just an hour or so before sunset. And a sudden rumble from my stomach meant I was hungry. Actually, I was really hungry, now that I noticed it; I felt like I hadn't eaten in days.

Damn. Maybe I _was_ dreaming.

I pushed the thought aside. Whatever was going on, I'd have to deal with it. Food would have to come later, when I figured out what to do. I shoved my gloved hands into the hoodie's pocket and started walking.

What now? I was a young woman, penniless and alone in a notoriously crime-ridden city. But I wasn't about to go back to the creepy , either. I walked for almost half an hour before deciding to see exactly what my new body could do. It would keep my mind off other things, at the very least.

I ducked into the next alley I saw, scanning it for movement in case there were any people in sight. The fire escape was several feet above my head, and I jumped as hard as I could, thinking maybe I could reach the lowest step on the steel ladder. Instead, I reached the first platform and managed to swing myself up onto it with ease. Maybe being half-cat wasn't so bad after all.

The rest of the fire escape was a piece of cake, and I was up on the rooftop in no time. The sun was just setting, and after jumping to a higher roof I got a beautiful panoramic view of the sunset. The heavy pollution and exhaust wafting up from the cars and trucks below was less than pleasant, but the cool breeze and spectacular view was enough to make up for that.

Once night took over I thanked my lucky stars for giving me night vision and a layer of thick, warm fur. And, though I hated to admit it, the t-shirt and hoodie helped a lot too.

I went over my newly acquired inhuman abilities in my head. Night vision, the ability to jump really high, enhanced hearing, smell and sight, and probably really good balance. Plus, chances were if my leg muscles were strong enough to allow me to jump as high as I had, I had some pretty awesome running skills, too.

I eyed the expanse of buildings and rooftops, reveling in the vastness of space for a moment before I took off, slowly at first, but I quickly picked up speed until I was running faster than I ever had in my life. It was thrilling, and the adrenaline rush it gave me only added to the excitement. The wind against my face was cool and refreshing, and I felt like I could keep running like that forever. My legs agreed, which was a totally new thing for me; I'm never been very athletics-oriented, despite my height and long legs.

It occurred to me that I still had no idea what I looked like. I hadn't seen myself in a mirror yet, so I might not have resembled myself in the slightest. I wondered if I had a different body altogether. It seemed possible, and that scared me.

I ran for a while longer, and without a clock or wristwatch around to tell me the time I had no clue as to how long I'd been running. I chanced upon a heating vent and settled there, planning to make it my resting place for the night. The heat made me drowsy, and I was almost asleep when the sounds of clanging metal and grunts and shouts woke me up. I was standing in a flash, but there was no one on the roof. My ears twitched, and I realized the sounds were coming from the alley below. I hesitated for a moment before deciding I might as well see what was going on and darting over to the edge of the roof. My eyes widened, and I forgot to breathe for a second.

There were the turtles, Raph, Donnie, Mikey and Leo, _the_ turtles, fighting with a group of…Foot ninja? They definitely looked like it. My eyes kept drifting back to the turtles, Donnie and Raph especially. They were right there. _Right there!_

After staring at them for what was probably at least a minute or so, I started to notice that the turtles were actually having a rough time dealing with the Foot Clan. They were better fighters, but the Foot had strength in numbers, and the turtles had probably been at it for a while because they were starting to look pretty tired. It took me all of five seconds to decide to come to the turtles' aid, jumping heroically down from the roof to join in the melee. Which I quickly realized was a bad idea, as I had next to no weaponry and the Foot had swords and smoke pellets and probably a whole slew of other nasty things. I saw a sword come flying at me, and I avoided it automatically, lashing out to punch the ninja in the face a second later. He stumbled back, and I kicked him where I knew it'd count. He went down and didn't come up.

Well. Maybe I could do some damage after all. I set about attacking the Foot and defending myself, mostly at the same time; now that I was involved, I wasn't exactly being overlooked. I few minutes in, I spotted a Foot ninja sneaking up on Leo from above. I hissed loudly, took off one of my clunky boots and hurled it at the offending ninja. He fell, and I left the boot where it landed. There was no time to get it right now anyway.

I think the turtles and I were actually succeeding in pushing the Foot back when one of the sneaks shouted something in Japanese and they threw down smoke bombs, disappearing in the confusion. The smoke cleared just in time for me to turn and see Raph take a stab at me with one of his sai. My cat instincts took over and I jumped onto a dumpster.

"Waitwaitwait!" I yelped, throwing up my hands. "I'm not a Foot, I swear!" I winced at my poor choice of words. Way to go, Quinn. I was starting to feel dizzy, too. Had one of the Foot cut me during the battle? I tried to remember, but my slowing brain couldn't come up with an answer.

"Then who the shell are you?" Raph growled. He leapt up onto the dumpster, landing in front of me, and held a sai to my throat.

"Quinn," I managed, and it came out as a half-squeak despite my efforts."I…"

I never finished my sentence, because at that moment everything faded into black as I fainted.


	2. In which we meet Tammy

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any of the members of the ninja swarm; mutants included.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

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Chapter two; In which we meet Tammy

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Most people who know me think that I'm a calm individual with a careless attitude towards style, organization and life's disasters. The death of a loved one I take in stride, I am the one handing out tissues and offering stale condolences with such a collected manner that the mortician gets jealous. I can act jovial or silly but if I calm down or don't know how else to act my face slips into a calm sort of 'epitome of zen' expression.

My expression is currently zen. My feet are not.

I almost wish my family could see me nervously pacing my small apartment and reading for the hundredth time or so the simple directions to Dr. Elder's office. Since I was I small child I'd known my life would take me places, but for some reason every major change turns me into a nervous wreck pacing the floor and trying to memorize every detail of information that I might possibly forget. Moving to New York City from Wyoming not only made me nervous, I was positively neurotic!

The directions in my hand were about to fall apart from over usage… and it was the third copy I'd made. When I wasn't fretting over the turns and exact spellings of street names I'd leave the directions on a neat pile of clothes set out for the next morning while I tried to find something else to occupy my time. All my things were unpacked and organized… twice. My bed was made to near perfect military standards and the furniture has been pushed to perfect right angles to the walls and dusted. The only things in my apartment that are not almost frightening me with how unusually clean I was keeping them were my nails which I'd picked down to the quick and my trashcan… Trash! Taking that down to the dumpster should kill a good five minutes!

Quickly I reached under my bed and pulled out my clean new holster. It was Dad's condition; the only way I could get his blessing for this trip was if I took his twenty-two caliber. He was scared for me, but he was also proud enough to actually give me the little gun and buy me a holster to go with it. After pulling the holster on, gun in place, I retrieved the old Air Force jacket I'd had for forever and a day and pulled it on. Finally I grabbed the bag of trash and headed for the door.

I took the stairs two at a time and eventually found the door that led to the alley. The air outside was no less stuffy than inside and I'm truly grateful that I couldn't smell what was gathered the flies around the dumpster as I headed towards it. It was at this point that I learned that New York isn't just home of the Yankees, the Giants and Sesame Street.

New York is also home to random ninja swarms.

The alley seemed to fill with black clad figures armed with many, many sharp metal objects. I couldn't tell if the ninja came from above or from the street. There were dozens of the black figures fighting four turtles. Yes, turtles, I didn't spend three years at college to come out too dumb to recognize a turtle shell.

"Turtles?!" Yes I recognized the shell but could anyone blame me for being confused? Considering the battle waging around me with the sounds of steel on steel and wood beating into solid flesh one would think I'd be smart enough to either hide, or at least keep my mouth shut. "…and… and _ninja?_" No sooner had I spoken than like a spell of invisibility shattering the ninja seemed to suddenly realize I was there. One of them grabbed my jacket and pulled me to him in the classic hostage stance. He held his sword to my throat and made his intentions very clear to the orange banded turtle in front of him.

I may not have reacted very well to seeing a highly improbable battle in front of my apartment, but Daddy didn't raise me to play the damsel in distress. Clamping my arms tightly to my side, I relaxed my legs so that I went dead weight and fell straight down. I felt the blade drag across my chin, cutting deep, but the surprised ninja didn't think to take my head while he had the chance.

After hitting the ground I sensed more than saw a large figure jump over me and tackle the ninja. Deciding to use my moment of luck to my advantage I crawled army-style over to the dumpster and hid myself in the corner between the dumpster and the wall. I knew there was no way I could take on a swarm of ninja with only my dad's six shooter. Instead I focused on being as small as possible and trying to stem the bleeding from my chin with the sleeve of my jacket.

The fighting seemed to go on forever. At some point I heard an unusual female voice shouting and after that things seemed to get still _more_ insane. Suddenly the alley filled with smoke and the activity grew quieter. The female voice did some shouting and the dumpster shook. Another voice, deeper and with a thick accent demanded, "Who the shell are you?"

Brilliantly, I looked around as if he were addressing me.

"Great, now what?" The accented voice asked.

"She's hurt. We'll have to take her back to the lair." This voice was calmer and didn't seem to have an accent.

"Did anybody else see that soldier girl?" A third voice, it sounded a little like the accented one except without the accent and not as deep.

"What soldier girl?" Four voices… five including the one that wasn't speaking anymore.

"One of the foot dudes grabbed her… You don't think they…" the orange banded turtle looked around the dumpster and grinned at me. "Nope, here she is!"

My head was swimming, possibly related to the way my sleeve was rapidly soaking up blood. I probably should have felt shock or terror; instead I fell back into my 'zen' look. So when the blue banded turtle came around the corner to see who his brother was talking about what he saw was a 'calm' girl with a gun and a military jacket… wonderful.

"Don, carry the cat-girl. Raph, you get soldier girl. We can't leave her here either." He ordered.

That registered easily enough. "**_What?!_**" I tried to push myself to my feet with one hand. "Forget it! There is no way-" Suddenly I was lifted into the air by my jacket. Before I could do anything I was disarmed and restrained by someone large enough to wrap one arm around my middle and cover my mouth with his hand. Pain shot into the cut on my jaw and I kicked.

"Stop that or I'll knock ya out!" He growled. Could he do that? There was no way to tell so I did as I was told.

I could now see three of the turtles, the fourth holding me. The one in purple carried a mutant I couldn't exactly place, it looked vaguely feline; except cats don't wear sweats and purple and pink stripes was a far cry from normal. Her coloring was so unusual it took me a moment to realize the red was blood.

Despite the circumstances Orange hopped around excitedly looking from me to the injured mutant as if it were adoption day at the kennel. The final one led the way from the alley to a manhole in the sidewalk. He easily lifted the large metal lid and stepped back so that Orange and Purple could lower the cat girl into the hole. "Yer goin' down yerself, got it?" My keeper growled. I could barely nod against the pressure he was putting on my mouth but he got the point.

Oh yes, city life was going to be interesting.

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Will update Saturday. :)


	3. Quinn Awakens again

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

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Chapter three; Quinn

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I experienced an eerie sense of déjà vu as I woke up again. The difference was that this time the lighting was blue-ish and very, very dim, it was significantly warmer, I was lying on what felt like a couch and it smelled like…things. A bunch of different, complicated things, most of which were very familiar. Most distinct was the smell of pizza and junk food.

Oh, and I was wearing clothes. That was a very, very nice thing to know.

For the first minute of so I was too groggy to do much of anything other than just lie there, half-awake, and go over the past night's events in my head. When I finally mustered the strength to open my eyes a little, pain throbbed across my back. I looked down and saw bandages wrapped around my chest, and thankfully covered mostly by a loose t-shirt. I hoped April had been the one to change my clothes. She was the only girl I could think of that the turtles knew, and I didn't want to think about having had my clothes changed by one of the turtles, or Splinter or Casey. I closed my eyes again, determined to go back to sleep.

A battle cry sounded suddenly from somewhere above and to the right, and I was up off whatever I'd been lying on in a flash. The cry was followed by fierce shouting involving numerous expletives. Something heavy fell. I was out of the lab in seconds.

I emerged into the turtles' living room, having half a moment to revel in this fact before my eyes landed on the recliner in front of the TV, which was shaking and rocking as if possessed. The turtles surrounded it, trying to stop it from moving. The shouting seemed to be coming from the chair. Finally, Raph snapped.

"SHUT THE SHELL UP!" he hollered at whatever or whoever was sitting in the chair.

"NO!" the voice screamed back. Some small part of my brain registered it as female, which was confirmed when I saw a young woman staring Raph down. "IF YOU THINK I'M NOT GO TO MY JOB, YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!" I hid a smile. She had me impressed—there weren't many people I knew who could berate four heavily muscled mutant turtles, two of which were carrying razor-sharp blades on their person. And while tied down to a recliner, no less.

Eventually the turtles managed to wrangle her into a position in which they were each holding one of her limbs, but she was still squirming. "LET ME GO!" she screamed. I was still impressed. But that didn't mean her shouting wasn't hurting my ears. Super hearing apparently had its faults. And although I had to commend her for her unfaltering volume, my ears and patience couldn't take it any more.

"_SHUT UP_!" I screamed. Or, at least, I meant to. Instead, my frustration came out as one long yowl, entirely from the feline part of me. I froze and covered my mouth with my hands as the turtles and the girl in the chair turned to stare at me.

"You're awake!" Mikey cried, grinning and running over to me.

"Yeah," I said weakly, relaxing despite myself. Mikey was just awesome like that. I looked over his shoulder. "Sorry about that."

The young woman was just staring at me blankly, and the turtles looked more than a little shocked, but they recovered quickly.

"It's fine," Donnie said dismissively, giving me a quick look-over. "If anything, it proves your condition has improved. The wound on your back will take much longer to heal, though. It needed stitches."

"Okay," I said evenly, shrugging. This seemed to surprise Donnie more than my yowling. "I'm Quinn, by the way," I continued, plowing through the awkwardness.

"I'm Mikey!" Michelangelo said, practically bouncing where he stood. "And that's Leo, Donnie, and Raph!" I waved to the turtles, and Donnie and Leo waved back. Raph just grunted and nodded in my general direction.

The girl in the recliner chose this moment to make her move, easily wiggling out of the grasp of the distracted turtles and making her escape. Apparently she'd managed to saw through the ropes using Raph's sai while he wasn't paying attention. Leonardo made a grab for her, but she ducked under his arm and ran out the door into the sewers.

"Oh crap," Raphael muttered, and the four brothers took off after her. I followed after a brief pause. By the time they were outside, she was out of sight, having already taken one of the tunnels in an attempt to escape. Without even thinking about it followed her scent and the faint sounds of her footfalls into the second tunnel on the left, up a staircase, and down another tunnel. It felt good to run.

"We're going to catch up to you, you know," I called after her, once I thought she would be able to hear me. When she didn't say anything—wow, she was really out of breath—I went on, starting to run a little faster. "You'll only get lost if you keep running." She still wasn't talking, so I decided it was time to catch up. Once she was within distance, I leapt into the air and landed in front of her, trying not to grin in pleasure. It was _awesome_ to suddenly be so athletically gifted.

She stopped and glared at me, trying to find a way past me. She looked ready to fight if she had to, but I didn't want that.

"Hey, um, not that I have anything against you, but the turtles think you shouldn't leave."

She frowned. "They think I'm in the army because of my jacket. …And I had a gun when they saw me. But I'm not. I just want to get to my job. Today was supposed to be my first day."

"Oh. What as?"

"A veterinary technician." Her tone was level, but her eyes were sharp and looking for a way out. That, and a weird mix of curiosity and what-the-hell-is-going-on, mostly aimed at me and my cat-ness.

"That's funny," I said, before I could stop myself. When she gave me a look, I rushed to explain. "I mean, you're a vet. And now you're stuck with a bunch of turtles, a rat, and a cat. That's pretty ironic if you ask me."

"Yeah," she said slowly, still tensed up. "I guess."

Apparently I'd stalled long enough, because right around then the turtles came into view. The girl sighed, looking tired and annoyed—basically the same as before.

"Sorry," I said, and she glared at me. The turtles advanced on her, and I fidgeted. "I think she's telling the truth about not being in the army." Her expression dissolved into gratitude, then confusion. I took a deep breath and prepared to start debating. "I mean, if she was do you honestly think she'd just go waltzing around New York City with an Air Force jacket on? Besides, it was old, and a real soldier would probably either wear a new jacket or none at all. The gun was probably for protection. New York isn't the safest place, and not everyone is a ninja turtle." I finished my rant, looking from turtle to turtle. Leo looked like he was thinking it over, Raph looked frustrated, and Mikey was stunned. Donnie seemed like he wanted to counter, but I stared him down, mentally noting to apologize for this later as he chickened out and looked away.

"It's a good point," Leo said eventually. "Okay. I'll blindfold her and lead her topside. Raph, Mikey, Donnie, take her back to the lair," he finished, gesturing in my direction. I smiled at him and turned back to the young woman.

"I'm Quinn, by the way," I said, holding out a hand. Hopefully she wouldn't mind the black claws.

"Tammy," she said, shaking my hand, and then Leo led her away to be blindfolded and taken back to the surface. The remaining turtle brothers and I started walking back to their lair.

"So, your name is Quinn?" I didn't even have time to nod before he went into hyper mode. "I'm Mikey, and this is Don and Raph! So, what kind of cat are you? Can you move your tail? Are your stripes died on? How'd you find us? Can you fight? Are you a ninja? Have you ever fought the Foot before? Do you like video games? Are you good at skateboarding? Does your tail move by itself? Do you have cat senses? Are you—"

"Shut it, Mikey," Raph growled, and we walked the rest of the way in silence.


	4. Tammy starts work

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter four; Tammy

* * *

After being left at my apartment –without my dad's gun- I barely had time to grab a shower and change before running out the door. I had to give that red banded turtle some credit, he'd done a good job patching my jaw up before my little… let's call it a disagreement. But that was all the time I had to think about what a weird night I'd just had.

Despite my best efforts I still ran into the public room of the research center twenty minutes late and –again- out of breath.

Dr. Elder was surprisingly forgiving for my lateness. He gave me a paper cup of water and let me catch my breath before showing me the facility. There was a huge variety of animals in the center; birds, fish lizards, cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs… and that barely brushed the surface. Dr. Elder explained that there were several people who were hired to care for, feed and observe the animals for normal behavior. There was also a receptionist and a bookkeeper who rarely left the public room and janitors responsible for keeping the entire facility clean and disinfected.

But no other Veterinarians or Technicians. It was strange, I was always told that there should be two techs per vet, but it looked like I was the only one, and I was just interning!

Furthermore, many, many of the animals were allowed to run loose in the clinic. During most of the initial tour a friendly parrot with gorgeous violet plumage perched on my shoulder carefully inspecting my hair. Cats slipped along the corners of the walls and I was sure I saw more than one degu running around desks. Despite their freedom and familiarity with humans, none of them wandered close to Dr. Elder.

Finally Dr. Elder took me into the medical wing of the center.

My first clue as to what might be going on in there came from the parrot who promptly abandoned my shoulder and flew back through the swinging doors into the larger part of the facility.

Everything looked like normal veterinary equipment. There were the familiar aspects of radiology, surgery, examination tables and easy-clean cages. Behind a wall was a full lab table for blood and body fluid tests, sharps containers and biohazard bags were available everywhere that could be expected and the equipment all looked new and ready to use.

All looked normal. I was ready to write off the parrot's reaction when I noticed a line of empty rooms. Looking in the viewing window I saw a bed, not a dog bed but a human type bed… with restraining straps. Under the window was a small tag that read _Alice_. I looked to Dr. Elder for an explanation, but none was provided.

The day passed rapidly. Dr Elders had me gather samples and familiarize myself with the facility by giving many of the animals wellness exams. I noticed quickly that the parrot wasn't the only one frightened of the medical wing. I found myself fervently hoping this was a normal reaction of animals in research centers, but my gut and experience told me otherwise. Something was up in that place, and I was determined to find out what.

Despite missing a night of sleep… and breakfast… and to be honest I kind of missed lunch too- I decided to stay late at the clinic. The janitors worked around me while I finished double checking some tests and I listened as the receptionist called that she was heading home. At five I heard the animal caretakers making their last rounds. Finally I put away the equipment and hurried to the receptionist's desk. With my stack of test results I had the perfect excuse in case anyone caught me searching the computer files.

Everything seemed normal. Animal daily care, recent physical exams, regular medications, vaccines, purchases and adoptions.

Once again everything was absolutely, perfectly and exceptionally _normal_.

I became even more suspicious.

Finally I typed in a name and started scanning for any information on Alice.

I found it.

* * *

"Great! How am I going to get out of this? Hello officers? My boss is a complete loon and I have evidence he's gene splicing. By the way, could you wait three months to arrest him? I need to get credit for my last clinical."

I stopped ranting and kicked my desk chair over. It wasn't fair. I had worked so hard to get where I was. I'd given up a chance for a safe, quick clinical back home to come all the way to New York only to walk into a ninja attack, get kidnapped by mutants and then find out my supervisor was completely and totally _insane_!

Even that I could handle, but the added moral dilemma of having to turn him in made it a real pain. I knew what I had to do. Tomorrow I'd gather information and evidence then turn his loony butt over to the cops…

…which meant that I'd have to call my parents and ask them for money to come home and start looking for another clinical. I got worked up for a new outlook on life and all I got was an experience that in a few years I probably won't even believe happened. It was something of a letdown.

After several more minutes of talking to myself and ranting I gave up and decided to turn in. I knew what I had to do, but I didn't have to like it. After changing into an old shirt and sweatpants I double checked all the locks and crawled under the covers.

Pent up energy kept me awake despite how exhausted I was. Once more I ran my plans through my mind. Go to work, get the proof, head straight to the nearest station, kiss getting my degree anytime in the near future goodbye.

And come up with an explanation as to what happened to Dad's gun.

Bummer.


	5. Quinn and the guys

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter five; Quinn

* * *

The first several minutes or so after we got back to the lair were filled with awkward silence, and the turtles went off to attend to various activities. Don went to his lab, Leo went to meditate, and Raph went to sleep. Mikey grabbed a slice of pizza from their fridge before plopping down on the couch to channel surf. I hovered awkwardly by the entrance, not sure what to do.

"Sooo…" Mikey's gaze slid over to meet mine. "Know how to play video games?"

I nodded. "I'm not that good though." He perked up instantly.

"Ever heard of Super Smash Brothers?"

I cracked a smile. "Who hasn't?" He patted the seat next to him on the couch and I sat without hesitation.

"I call Mario!"

"I want Link!"

We chose our characters, the melee began, and we fell into a trance-like state of gaming, mercilessly tapping and toggling our controllers and shouting and groaning and talking smack to each other. Who cared if we were two very hyper, very geeky teenage mutants sitting in the sewers playing a slightly outdated GameCube game? I was having the time of my life. I was losing every game, but still. It was more fun than I'd had in a while.

We were so into the game that we didn't even notice when Mikey's brothers slowly emerged from their respective rooms. The next thin I knew, the TV suddenly went blank. I froze, momentarily stunned, and Mikey began to protest.

"Hey! We were in the middle of a game!"

"Mikey, it's dinnertime." I turned to see Leo standing behind the couch, remote in hand. "I thought you wanted to order the pizza?"

"PIZZA!" Mikey shouted, abandoning the couch (and me) without a second thought. Leo turned to me and gave me a once-over. He was going for the intimidating _I'm-the-leader-of-this-family-and-I-don't-trust-you_ look, I could tell. Unfortunately for him, I knew him too well for it to have any great effect on me.

"Hi," I said, summoning up a smile. "I'm Quinn. What's up?"

"I'm Leonardo," he said, still trying to look threatening. He crossed his arms over his chest, still holding the remote. I restrained the urge to burst out laughing.

And then he started lecturing me.

"Look, I don't know who you are or what your deal is, but we're trusting you, and if you betray that trust you'll be seen as a threat to us. You're lucky we're even letting you stay here for the time being. So, if you're working for the Foot or there's anything else you need to tell me, now's the time."

I managed to keep a straight face for about five seconds before the laughter escaped. Within moments I was bent over, clutching my sides and howling with laughter. That certainly got the other turtles' attention. Except for Mikey. He was busy calling the pizza joint.

"Well, look at that," Raph said, smirking. "Leo finally learned how to tell a joke."

"What did you say to her?" Donnie asked, glancing skeptically at me.

"I was just explaining—"

"You tried to lecture her?" Raph snorted. "If she isn't our enemy, that'll do the trick." He looked over his shoulder at Mikey, who was having a rather extended conversation with the pizza place over the phone.

"…look, pal, if you put any anchovies on this thing, I swear—"

"Mikey, remember our talk," Donnie said, and Mikey stopped.

"Okay, uh, that's it. And the clock's ticking, dude!" Mikey hang up the phone and gleefully danced over to the exit, picking up his skateboard on the way.

"I'm coming with you," Leo called, running after his younger brother, who whined but otherwise accepted his brother's presence. I laughed again and turned back to Donnie and Raph, who were regarding me with some skepticism.

"Hi," I said weakly, internally rejoicing when my voice didn't crack or waver. My two favorite ninja turtles. Were alone. With. Me. …Well, Splinter was probably meditating somewhere, but still. For all intents and purposes, we were alone.

"Hey," they said in unison, Raphael grunting and Donatello being polite and intelligent as always.

"So," Donatello said, cutting into an uncomfortable silence. "You said you just woke up as a mutant." I nodded. "Do you have any memories from before that?"

"Yeah," I said, biting my lower lip. Should I tell them that they'd existed only in movies and comics and TV shows where I came from? "I used to be normal. I went to a school for engineering and science and technology…I wanted to be an author." I shrugged. "And then I just woke up like this."

"Where did you wake up?" Donnie asked, and after failing to come up with a fake answer I decided to tell the truth. Besides, my conscience would've haunted me afterwards if I hadn't.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But there was this freaky guy called Dr. Elder who thought I was his daughter or something. I left, went running around for a while, and then saw you guys fighting those ninja and decided to help out."

"How'd ya know we weren't the bad guys?" Raph grunted. Both brothers still looked highly skeptical. I thought fast, and the answer came to me with surprising ease.

"Years of comic, TV shows and movies. The bad guys always wear black or outrageously flashy villain-looking clothing, are usually either sneaky and devious or superhumanly strong and huge, and the heroes usually fight fairly. They had you outnumbered, at least 20 to 4." I shrugged. Donnie frowned, but Raph cracked a smile.

"You chose sides in a life and death situation based on cartoons and comic books?" Donnie asked incredulously.

"That explains why you and Mikey get along so well," Raph said. "He woulda done the same thing."

"Pizza's here!" I heard Mikey's voice proclaim, and I turned to see him come running into the lair with several boxes of pizza piled up on his outstretched arms. Leo entered a few seconds later, walking. The four brothers quickly fell into what seemed to be a routine of fighting over the slices and then eating them. I sat forgotten on the couch, wondering if they'd realize I was still there anytime soon.

Thankfully, Donnie seemed to remember my existence and called me over. Most of the pizza was gone, and I didn't really want to wrestle the guys over it anyway, so I opened the fridge. It was filled with milk, eggs, and other essentials, but the bottom shelf above the fruit and vegetable drawers was covered in tin foil-wrapped packages.

"What're these?" I asked, holding one up to my face.

"Bir'day cayg," Mikey said through a mouthful of pizza. My face must've lit up like a Christmas tree. Of course. Mikey used to work in the birthday party business. He brought home _loads_ of cake. I looked at the turtles with worship written all over my face.

"Thank you." Cake. So much cake. I couldn't even begin to comprehend…Even if much of it was stale or moldy, that still left so much delicious, icing-covered cake. Not to mention the ice cream cake. I settled down with the piece in my hand, peeling back the tinfoil to eat it. Life was good.

"She's just like Splinter," Leo muttered.

"Jealous?" Raph asked with a smirk.

Mikey set in with another round of questions when I was halfway through my cake, and the rest of the dinner period passed in a blur, and Splinter joined us a while later. The cake was good, that much I remember.

When the turtles went off to patrol, Splinter and I settled down in front of the TV to watch his "stories". Sitcoms and pointless drama-filled romance, most of them, but I watched anyway. I fell asleep in the middle of Gilmore Girls several hours later.


	6. Tammy's 2nd day

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Sorry about the delay, my fault entirely...

* * *

Chapter six; Tammy

* * *

Ironic, the day I planned to make the best impression possible with my new boss I came in twenty minutes late and hadn't eaten or slept. The day I planned to turn my boss over to the nice young men in their clean white coats I came in five minutes early, clothes neat, breakfast eaten and probably smelling like whatever a spring daisy smelled like in this city.

I walked into the medical wing and Dr. Elder nearly pounced on me. His eyes were dark and slightly bloodshot from lack of sleep, it didn't help him look less like a mad doctor. "Ah! Tammy! Please come in, I have something I must show you!" He actually grabbed my hand and pulled me further into the hospital wing. The man was as giddy as a schoolboy with an apple for his favorite teacher.

"I wanted you to meet my first, but she left… she'll come back though! I know it!" He babbled. "But since she's not here right now I stepped up my work on my next child so that you could see exactly what it is I do here."

I wanted to object or say something. I _had_ met his first project, Quinn had saved me from being held captive in the sewers by ninja turtles –why the heck did that sound so familiar? I'd also seen the records on her. I kept my mouth shut as he pulled me over to the room with the name plate "Alice" on it. He then led me to the room next to it. The door was tagged with the name "Gandolf" and through the window I could see a large wicker basket filled with pillows and blankets.

After casting me an excited glance he opened the door and pulled me into the room. I stood uncomfortably by the door while the doctor moved to the basket. He threw one more excited look towards me before pulling back the blanket. At first I didn't recognize the creature, but as it moved around a little and finally looked up I felt my stomach lurch.

It was a dragon.

But dragons simply don't _exist!_

Chuckling with pride Dr. Elder told me, "I created him with Smog in mind. Isn't he marvelous?"

The dragon stepped out of his basket. Now that I could see him more clearly I saw that 'Gandolf' was built much like a dog, a large pup by the looks of it. His ears were missing, as was his fur, and a thin layer of partially grown-in scales covered his skin… including the small wings on his back. He steered clear of his mad 'creator' and carefully edged towards me.

I knelt down and tried to offer the frightened animal the comfort he sought, silently taking a little from him as well.

"He likes you!" Dr. Elder crowed.

I didn't answer. Here I had the concrete evidence I needed to lock this loon up, and all I could think of was getting this dog/dragon as far away from him as possible and yet, I couldn't let the police see this animal either.

I hate my job.

* * *

That same day during lunch we were "robbed."

Ask anyone. The door was kicked in, the secretary's desk riffled through and the medical wing was a mess. Several bio samples were missing and most of the controlled drugs were gone as well. It looked like a typical hit from a local gang but what was most disturbing was they threatened Dr. Elder's technician and stole his precious experiment.

It was a horrible experience for me and if anyone believes that I've got some ocean front property in Arizona going really cheap.

Dr. Elder was terrified. He darted around the medical wing desperately checking to see if there was any chance his precious 'Gandolf' had been missed. The loss of his precious pet… or child I'd rather not think which his mind placed the dragon under- made the doctor so upset that he didn't notice how calm his poor, 'traumatized' technician was behaving as I tried to stop a cut on my cheek from bleeding more heavily than I'd intended.

Finally he came to see that 'Gandolf' was not there. Dr. Elder retreated to his office in despair and I meekly followed. The man's office was like a library. There were books everywhere but the two on his desk were worn copies of Alice in Wonderland and The Hobbit.

I watched the doctor slide into his desk chair and stair into the abyss for several minutes before he saw me standing in the doorway. "Is there anything I can do?" I offered, trying to look like a good little brownnoser or whatever.

The doctor just waved a hand at me. "No my dear." He assured me. I tried not to grate my teeth at the 'my dear' statement. "You've had a trying experience. Go home, rest, take tomorrow off. I'll see you on Monday."

"Alright." I replied, trying my best to sound reluctant. I think I pulled it off. "I'll see you Monday then."

It wasn't five minutes later I was literally running out of the building waving for any taxi that would stop. I had a three day weekend to figure out what to do with the dragon in my apartment and there was no way I planned on wasting it.

First thing first; I had to change his name to something better than '_Gandolf_.'

* * *


	7. Quinn's nose knows

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

Fun new word time! "Hajababa", I love it!!!!! XD

* * *

Chapter seven; Quinn

* * *

"_Quinn_," a voice whispered, bringing me back to the real world. "_Quiiiinn_."

"Hmm? Hajababa?" I murmured, still half asleep. I heard laughter in the distance and frowned. "Nnh." I rolled onto my back and blinked up at Mikey, who was grinning down at me.

"You fell off the couch, dude!" Mikey announced. I gave him a weak grin.

"What time is it?" I mumbled. The cold was starting to get to me. I moaned and curled up into a ball, using my tail as a blanket. When the smell of pancakes reached my nose, however, I remembered just how hungry I was. My ears perked and after I'd pinpointed the source of the smell—Mikey was apparently waving at least one pancake next to my face—I made a swipe for it, grinning when my hand curled around a pancake. It was in my mouth in a flash as I gobbled it up. By then I was fully awake, staring up at the wide-eyed turtles.

"More pancakes?" I asked, eliciting a smile from Mikey.

A few moments later I was seated at the breakfast/lunch/dinner table, impatiently awaiting the next round of pancakes. April was the cook, as it turned out, and although I'd never liked her in the comics or movies or cartoons or any other reincarnations, she was the kind of person I could easily get along with in real life. If this was even real life.

The conversation we had was mostly an argument over the pancakes, smattered with bits of small talk, most of it concerning April's engagement to Casey, which had apparently only happened a few weeks ago. I wasn't surprised; the two had gotten engaged at the end of the TMNT movie, hadn't they?

Inevitably, the conversation turned to me, and if I remembered who'd been responsible for bringing me here. I took a moment to steel myself before recounting the entire thing in a very calm voice. When I was done, all eyes on me, some concerned, but most just looking freaked out. Like I was an alien or something. Which was completely unfair—they were giant talking turtles for God's sake!

"Woah," Mikey said eventually.

"That's pretty creepy," Donnie said, managing to sound both curious and pitying at the same time.

"Friggin' psycho," Raph muttered, angrily shoving a large scrap of pancake into his mouth.

"That's a lot to go through," Leo said, sounding very much the older brother.

"Are you sure you're okay?" April asked. I smiled and waved a hand dismissively.

"I'll be fine so long as I never see that creep again." I paused. "But I could go for some fresh air."

"We're going on patrol soon!" Mikey offered enthusiastically. "You should totally come!"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Donnie offered. He glanced at Raph, who just grunted, and Donnie and Mikey turned to Leo.

"I guess so," the leader relented, and a grin spread across my face at the same time as Mikey's.

"Cool!" we said, simultaneously, totally in-synch as we locked eyes across the table, shared a victorious grin and high-fives each other. An elated feeling filled me. Given the fact that the person who seemed to share my mindset—or at least part of it—was a mutant ninja turtle, I probably should've been at least a little concerned, but at the time I was too happy to care. That and my life had been so royally screwed up lately that a little extra weirdness was no big deal.

"Thanks, Leo," I said, grinning at him.

"Uh, sure," he said, looking surprised after the synchronization between Mikey and I.

The conversation settled down after a while. I talked with Mikey about assorted skateboarding moves (though the talking was all him; I wasn't very good at skateboarding) and online MMORPGs that we vowed to play together later on. Donnie and April settled into a conversation about Donnie's latest invention, which was apparently a toaster that would be resistant to his brothers' destructive forces. Raph and Leo remained quiet, and I looked over at Splinter to see the old rat staring at me, a calm, contemplative expression on his face despite the worry in his eyes. I looked away.

And then we were cleaning up—well, sort of; we ended up leaving most of the mess for April to deal with—and going on patrol. The route to the surface was fairly long, but I didn't mind. It gave me time to think, because Mikey was forced to clam up after being growled at by Raph. My eyes wandered from turtle to turtle, noting the minute differences between them; the way they walked, held themselves, the color of their skin and shells, the scars on their shells and plastrons. More specifically, Raph's; there was a long, jagged slash down the middle of his shell, presumably from the stone-thing that had been lodged there during the 4th movie. Or maybe it wasn't. I decided to ask.

"Hey Raphael?" I asked, forcing myself to use his full first name. He glanced briefly at me and grunted.

"What?"

"What's the scar on your shell from?" The turtles seemed to tense, and I regretted asking. "Er, nevermind."

Raph grunted and kept walking. I noted how despite his aggravated stance and firm set to his shoulders, he was actually almost completely silent. All the turtles were, actually, even Mikey. I suddenly felt very clumsy and loud and tried to soften my footsteps, which worked surprisingly well. Soon I was just as quiet as the rest of them, and Leo, Donnie and Raph actually snuck looks over their shoulders to see if I was still there. I focused on my feet. My face burned.

The silence was killing me, but I really didn't want to be the awkward one and attempt to start a conversation, especially after my blunder with Raph. So we walked to the surface in utter silence, and I was infinitely glad when we emerged from a manhole in a grungy alleyway.

The turtles were totally at home, falling into what seemed routine as they jumped onto the nearest fire escape and practically flew up it. I followed, clumsily at first but after a while I noticed I was running into the iron bars less often, and that was probably a good sign. It got easier when we reached the rooftops. Running was like second nature, and my newfound endurance and speed made coasting alongside the turtles easy as anything.

Several minutes into the run, a familiar smell registered with my brain. I ghosted to a stop, sniffing around to find the smell again. An image of Tammy presented itself to my brain. Scent recognition. Well, that was cool.

A sudden breeze stirred the scent up again, and I traced it back to an apartment in the building that I was standing on.

"What's up?" Mikey asked suddenly, and I jumped, back arching and fur standing on end. I narrowly escaped hissing at him and set about calming down. The turtles had accumulated behind me, and I addressed all of them.

"It's Tammy, the girl from before. She's down in that apartment." I froze as another gust of air hit my nose, Tammy's scent mixed with the all-too-familiar smell of chemicals. More specifically, the ones from the lab. I took a deep breath and leapt onto the nearest balcony, ignoring the turtles' shouts. "There's something weird," I hissed at them. "I need to know what's up."

I found the source of her scent, a window that was slightly ajar, and peeked in through the curtains. Tammy was there, putting something in what looked like a dog food bowl and walking over to—I stopped breathing when I saw what she was giving the bowl to.

It was a large, mutated creature that somehow resembled a dark, twisted version of a dog. Scales were growing in on his furless hide, and wings sprouted from his back. I knew instantly where he'd come from, and everything else fell into place. Both of them, Tammy and the scaly, winged dog, reeked of _him_. Tammy was related to him in some way. She was a veterinary technician, right? Maybe he was her boss. And for some reason she had kidnapped this other creation. The poor thing looked scared out of its mind, and my heart went out to it. I'd always been a dog person, and the fact that this poor thing was going through the same ordeal I was, only with a lesser understanding of the situation that I had. He smelled like fear, but it was painfully obvious even without the gift of enhanced

I was dimly aware of Donnie landing next to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. He was trying to persuade me to come back up to the rooftop. I ignored him. The smell of Dr. Elder was everywhere, but I couldn't leave, so I breathed as little as possible. I hated that smell.

I turned to take one breath of fresh air before sliding the window open and slinking into the apartment

* * *


	8. Tammy's dragon

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter eight; Tammy

* * *

"_Thatcher!_" I yelled as the dragon/dog once again darted between my legs.

The poor dog was in a near panic and if that wasn't enough he had my landlady's cell phone in his mouth. _Completely_ in his mouth. I had to get that thing back before the landlady returned and found that a dragon had eaten her phone.

What had started as a mildly annoying game had turned into panic when he'd run over his water dish. Everything had been soaked when the dish flipped, but the sensation on his now sensitized skin had sent the poor pup into a panicked frenzy. The air brushing over his wet skin couldn't be helping him either and what wasn't helping him wasn't helping me.

Finally I managed to get behind Thatcher and wrap him in a towel. He struggled for a moment but with him now blind and no more wind on his skin he started to realize he wasn't being hurt. "Nice catch."

Animals can sense fear. So can I when a person jumps so badly they literally leave the floor. I spun around to face the intruders in my apartment while Thatcher yelped and ran for cover.

Quinn, the purple turtle and the orange turtle were already in my apartment while a cautious blue masked turtle came in through the window. Purple seemed amazed by Thatch cowering under a chair while Quinn looked sadly at him, and suspiciously at me. Orange was grinning broadly. "Hey! Just like Ford from Hitchhiker's Guide!"

I frowned, not getting the reference. He pointed at the towel I was holding like some kind of weapon and I quickly dropped it. "What are you doing here?" I asked. It was supposed to be straightforward but I think it came across more challenging.

"Ask Fuzzy." Red grunted as he too came in through the window.

Quinn shot him a look. "Does this mean I get to make up nicknames for you?" Raph just glared. Eventually she turned back to me. "You reek."

I blinked, "Wha- thanks for letting me know but why did you come in-"

"I meant of our _beloved_ Dr. Elder. You, and the dog _reek_ of him."

That made more sense. Before I could say anything Thatcher started making a noise behind me. I spun around just in time to see the characteristic signs of a dog swallowing something they shouldn't. "Thatcher!"

In a streak of luck only Murphy could have predicted the moment the cell phone was clearly beginning the world's first tour of a dragon's stomach the door of my apartment was pounded on and a voice I was truly beginning to detest called. "Pam! Did I leave my phone in there?"

"I-…" I glanced at the door in a panic. By the time I turned back to the mutants I discovered myself to be the only one in sight. "O-okay." I mumbled.

"Miss Pam! I really need that phone!"

Quickly I answered the door. No sooner had the wooden door left its frame than Ms. Harris shoved the door and marched into _my_ apartment. She was a stick of a woman with badly died red hair. She hurried to the counter where her phone used to sit and frowned when she discovered it missing.

Turning around several times looking over my apartment Ms. Harris seemed more than a little perplexed. "I was sure… Pam you didn't happen to find it did you?"

"_Tammy_." I hissed under my breath. "No Ms. Harris. I don't remember seeing it." Frankly, it's a little sad how easy I find it to lie to this woman.

Ms. Harris frowned and looked around some more. "Oh dear, are you sure?"

"Yes." Well… I hadn't seen it since Thatch had swallowed it.

Looking fretful, the woman turned around in place one last time, nervously tapping twig-like fingers to her thin lips. "Well, I suppose then…" She took a step towards the door. "Could it have…" Ms. Harris turned and took another step into my apartment. I held my breath. "No, I suppose not." She murmured.

Finally I was able to close the door behind the woman's retreating form. Sighing, I turned to try and figure out if the mutants were still in my apartment. "That's your landlady?" Mikey asked. Quinn helpfully covered my mouth before I could shout or scream.

After calming down slightly I removed her furry hand from my mouth. "Yes. That was my landlady."

"She looks kinda scrawny." Mike noted as he put Thatcher on the floor.

The dragon/dog jumped on my legs, asking to be picked up again. I gave him a look that said no, but as a pup he hadn't learned to read human expressions. I gave in quickly and picked him up just as Donatello came up. Looking around I was able to see Leo crawling out from under my bed while Raph came in through my window again.

Don came right up and looked Thatcher over, the cautious nature I had seen from him in the sewers overwritten by his curiosity. "He looks like a dog, but these mutations…" He noted, running a hand over scales that were nearly grown in by now. I also noticed that Thatch's skin was getting tighter, especially around the scruff and muzzle. When Don ran his hands over Thatcher's wings the dog shot him a dirty look but otherwise allowed himself to be inspected. "I'd love to get a better idea of how this was done."

I held Thatch a little tighter, even as my mind started thinking about it. They lived in the sewers, not the best reputed place but it seemed to be working well enough… that ginger cat I saw seemed happy enough… and it was obviously safe for abnormal beings to live…

"Do you have any idea how long this took?" He asked.

"Unless Dr. Elder was working privately at his home the entire procedure took less than sixteen hours." I reported, trying to shake off flashbacks from dozens of case studies in college. "But I'm not sure how it works; I mean, his scales only started to show up a couple hours ago and now they're nearly completely grown in. This shouldn't be possible."

Don tried to check Thatcher's teeth but the pup shook him off and shot him another look. "A lot of things are possible when someone takes science too far." He explained. With a slight grin he added, "Trust me on this."

I had to smile, if my hypothesis was correct, this guy was walking proof of what science amok could do.

"We've got to get going." Leo announced.

Don turned and seemed to exchange looks with his brother. All I could see was Leo shaking his head, frowning and finally shrugging and heading towards the window. Turning back to me Don had a huge grin on his face. "Could we take him back to the lair for closer examination?" He asked quickly.

Wait, they wanted to take Thatcher away from me already? If it was for the best fine, but… I was kind of getting attached to the mutt. "I guess that would work…" I agreed hesitantly, carefully handing Thatcher over to the purple masked turtle. "I still haven't figured out how dramatically his digestive system's been altered though…"

"Hold it!" Mikey announced. "No boring science talk until we get back home!" Suddenly, and completely without my permission, I found myself being picked up.

"Hey! What?!" The turtle easily carried me to and out of my own window, following the other mutants.

Just as we were moving out of earshot of my apartment I hear an annoying voice calling, "Pam? I just wanted to double check…"

* * *

For the record; this story was begun on the basis of self gratification. We both get to meet and stay with the guys, Quinn got to be a mutant/cheshire cat and I get a dragon! *dances*

Pet him, you know you want to.


	9. Quinn at home

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter nine; Quinn

* * *

We'd been running across rooftops for a minute or so when I couldn't take it anymore and asked the question that'd been eating away at me since I'd smelled Tammy and Thatcher.

"So you work for Dr. Elder?" I said, trying not to rush my words and sound conversational instead of anxious. I don't think it worked.

Tammy nodded, staring ahead. "I found out he was experimenting with genetic manipulation on my second day there. Yesterday." She looked at me. "Thatcher was supposed to be a replica of Smaug, from the Hobbit. And he named you Alice."

"Oh." My voice came out sounding a little off, but I suddenly felt a strange detachment from the situation. Ah, my wonderful ability to alienate myself from reality and easily brush off painful events. Yes, that was going to come in an awful lot of handy now.

No one could think of anything to say after that, so no one spoke. The silence was awkward, but tolerable for me since the city surrounding me was quite the distraction to my enhanced senses anyway. Besides, I'd always been a master of taking detours and pit stops on the highway of thought. Really, though, my mind was more like the freeway. But I digress.

We were back in the sewers then, forcing us to walk in more close quarters and providing an excellent opportunity to study the turtles more closely, too. I noted with care each of their distinct shell patterns, skin tone and scent. With a slight strain of my hearing, I was even able make out the patterns of their heartbeats. They were mostly the same, but I could hear them nonetheless. Cool beans.

My hunger eventually started beating its way into my brain, and soon I couldn't help myself from asking.

"So what's the dinner situation?"

The sudden outburst of speech seemed to startle the others a little bit, Thatcher in particular, but Mikey took it upon himself to answer the question.

"Pizza, dude!" he explained, grinning at me. I smiled back and mentally kicked myself. Pizza. Of course pizza! What else did the frigging TMNT _eat_?

I started to become aware that Donnie was glancing worriedly in my direction every few seconds. I decided to ignore it. If he wanted to ask me something, he would. Instead I let my attentions drift to Thatcher. He apparently still didn't trust the turtles and/or me, because he was walking as far away from us (and still as close to Tammy) as possible. He occasionally bumped against her legs, but he didn't seem to notice, and Tammy just glanced briefly down at him and kept walking. I felt sorry for him. I had no doubt that Dr. Elder had scared him so much he'd been reduced to this jumpy, anxious mess.

We arrived back at the lair, and I shifted my eyes and thoughts away from the poor mutant. Although, once I thought about it, that could apply to everyone except Tammy. Ah, the novelties that came with being an anthro Cheshire cat living with a family of four teenage mutant turtle sort-of-ninjas and their mutant sort-of-father rat and your sort-of-brother doggie-dragon who had been rescued from your sort-of-father mad scientist by his significantly-more-normal-and-sane veterinary technician who had helped you and the turtles fight a bunch of ninjas in an alleyway not too long ago.

I discovered that April had left some clothes for me, which I appreciated immensely and reminded myself to change into them tomorrow, and thank April the next time I saw her. Donnie did apparently have something to say to me, because just as I was about to go talk with Tammy and Thatcher, he pulled me aside and invited me to his lab. I happily accepted—Donnie's wish is my command—and followed him down into what could have been considered the basement of their lair if they weren't already living underground.

My eyes adjusted to the lack of lighting (other than the white and blue glows of computer screens) almost immediately and I saw the room as if it was outside on a sunny day. It was incredibly awesome. It didn't last, though, because then I was faced with Donnie and his concerned expression. Oh, God. I was doomed. There was no way I'd be able to control what came out of my mouth if he asked me anything looking so _worried_ about me. He'd find out that I was really from an alternate dimension where he and his brothers only existed in the media. Donnie was a genius; what if he suspected?

Then again, would it be a bad thing for him to know?

I took a deep breath and steeled myself anyway. Better safe than sorry.

"Quinn, are you alright?"

Well, that definitely wasn't what I'd been expecting. And yet it only put me on thinner ice, endearing him to me yet again.

"I'm fine," I said, trying to keep the surprise out of my voice. "Why? What's up?"

The worried expression remained. Damn. "It's just that…Well, I noticed that you've stayed relatively calm despite being turned into a mutant, waking up in a foreign place, fighting a group of ninja, and then staying in the sewers with a group of mutant turtles. And one mutant rat."

Oh, Donnie. How strangely similar our trains of thought have been. Great minds think alike.

"Oh. I've always been like. I can freak out for a while and then be perfectly fine." I shrugged. How well could he see me in these dim lights? "Don't worry about it. It's normal. For me."

He frowned. "You're sure?"

I grinned. "Yeah. But thanks anyway." I looked around, taking in more of the lab. "So, um…can I have a tour?"

He seemed genuinely surprised, doing nothing but blinking at me for a few seconds. Considering what the other turtles (and Splinter) were like, I guessed that not many people showed an interest in his lab. Except maybe April. And Leatherhead, if he existed here. I couldn't be sure what timeline this universe followed, though there was evidence in favor of the movies. "Sure," he said, once he'd recovered from his shock. He proceeded to give me a walk-through tour, showing me the various computers and machines. I saw the wall of screens and wheeled-desk-chair-with-keyboard and added another tally to the movies.

And then a wide-eyed, exhilarated Mikey slammed the door open and shouted three words down into the lab.

"HEROES IS ON!"

Donnie and I froze, and then suddenly it was one mad dash for the door. We made it to the couch just in time, both of us jumping over the back seat and miraculously managing to not land on any of the furniture's other occupants. The logo appeared on screen, and I looked to Donnie, who had apparently been looking in my direction at the same time.

"_You like Heroes?_" he asked incredulously, whispering.

"_Of course!_" I whispered back. And then the episode started, and our eyes snapped back to the screen. It was a new episode, which only furthered my excitement. I had to wrap my arms around my tail and clutched it to my chest because it was swishing around too much, nearly hitting Leo in the face before I got it under control.

I was almost completely unaware of my surroundings until the commercial break. The couch was suddenly crowded, what with every occupant squeezed onto it, and I myself was sandwiched not uncomfortably between Donnie and Leo. Dear lord their arms were muscular. And, though it felt like being pressed between . Still, though, it was nice to be close with other people, if two mutant turtles could be called that. The physical proximity was comforting, which was less than I could say for the rest of my recent history.

"So who's your favorite character?" Donnie asked conversationally. I could hear Mikey trying to explain everything that had happened so far in the show to Tammy on my right.

"Sylar," I said instantly. "Without a doubt. Suresh and Hiro are pretty cool, too. Who's yours?"

"Definitely Suresh." I grinned and held up a hand. He blinked at it for a moment before grinning back and high fiving me.

The rest of the episode passed in a blur, with the appropriate awed silence at times and cheering and/or booing when it was called for. Leo left halfway through and returned with three boxes of pizza, then proceeded to pass the boxes around one at a time. I actually got two pieces this time, as he started with me when passing the boxes around. Thatcher circled his slice for a full minute before his curiosity got the better of him and he wolfed it down. He must've liked it, because we had to feed him the entire third box to pacify him. I had to quell the urge to pet his scaly head multiple times during the commercial breaks. I didn't want to scare him, so I figured it would be better to let him come to me.

I was too tired to get off the couch when Heroes ended, so I was left alone with Splinter, Raph, Tammy and Thatcher when the other turtles left for another patrol. Thatcher stayed for his protection, Tammy stayed to keep Thatcher feeling semi-secure, I stayed because I was feeling sleepy, Raph stayed to keep an eye on the three of us, and Splinter stayed to watch his stories. And because he hardly ever left the lair anyway.

Eventually I stopped trying to pay attention to whatever was playing on the TV and just curled up on the right end of the couch, making sure not to touch Raph lest I disturb him or whatever. My tail started to bother him, but I was too tired to do anything about it and let it sweep lazily back and forth across the couch, regardless of the fact that it was in almost constant contact with Raph. Hopefully he wouldn't mind.

I fell asleep thinking of a scary man who smelled like chemicals.

That was the start of the nightmares.


	10. Tammy underground

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter ten;Tammy

* * *

Give me a degree, I have officially majored in stupid.

Why the heck did I tell Quinn the doctor named her? She probably doesn't want to know the dude is still alive, much less attached to her on some kind of weird, crazy-man emotional level.

Fortunately she didn't ask any other questions… probably due to the weird-out factor my answer had provided.

Mikey put me down in the sewers, joy of joys for my shoes. Donatello put Thatch down and I was a little surprised to find he preferred to stay close to my side. I probably should have paid him, or the turtles, or Quinn a little more attention, but I found my thoughts occupied with trying to decide my next step. I didn't know how long today's turn of events would postpone my plans, but now I had to find the file on Thatcher, maybe the one on Quinn as well as evidence unrelated to either of them proving beyond a doubt that Dr. Elder was a crazy as… well... as he was.

I also wanted to know what I'd have to do to get my dad's gun back, and if that was still an option. Then again, considering the spectacle I'd made of myself last time I was down here I probably shouldn't ask.

Thatcher bumped into my leg and I glanced down at him just in time to see and step over an uneven stone in the floor. The little guy was looking less like a dog now, more dragon and if my eyes weren't mistaken his wings were a little larger now. They looked like they fit him rather than were haphazardly attached. When I looked up again I barely caught Quinn glancing away from me and it suddenly occurred to me to wonder; who had she been?

These thoughts as well as several others ran through my mind and kept me pretty much distracted until we arrived at the lair.

The place was bigger and… uh… stonier than I'd remembered. Then again, going from a barely contained nervous wreck to an actual nervous wreck tended to affect my memory adversely. Quinn seemed almost at home, she accepted a package from Master Splinter and happily looked through its contents. Last I saw of her Donnie wanted to talk to her and they went off somewhere together.

I waited nervously for a moment, feeling shy and out of place. Before I could find a quiet corner or something to situate myself in Master Splinter's actions caught my attention. He leaned down considerably and offered his hand low to the floor, all the while talking in a low, soothing voice. I smiled when Thatcher showed the courage to leave my side and walked close enough to sniff the offered hand. With a smile the venerable rat turned his hand over Thatch's head and patted him lightly before straightening. Thatcher returned to my side looking pleased with himself.

"A fine young creature." Master Splinter noted with some amusement. Turning his focus on me, Master Splinter fixed me with a look that nearly made me look to see if I was wearing some kind of rat fur coat or something. "You work for the doctor who caused their alteration?" I didn't need to ask for him to explain what he meant by 'their'.

"Kinda." I bit my lip to keep from babbling about internships and no choice and only about a thousand other things that came to mind. Strangely; I had the feeling that he was asking questions he already knew the answers to, just like my father. "I had no idea exactly what he was doing until yesterday."

"But you knew he did research?" Splinter pressed.

_Don't tell me he's PETA_. "I thought he was studying pharmacokinetics." I ask the reader if they have ever seen a rat's eyes glaze over. It is an interesting sight. "How medications move through the body."

Fortunately he did not break out a bucket of red paint (I'd heard horror stories), but rather nodded. "I see." He said, and I believe he did.

Master Splinter glanced down at Thatcher and lifted a brow. The dragon was sniffing at the rat's cane in a manner that clearly broadcasted 'tree' behavior. Before Thatch's doggy mind could decide to leave his mark the cane was lifted and used to scratch at the patch of scales between his wings. Although Thatcher jumped at first he seemed to like the feeling.

After that things passed by more or less in a blur. Somebody shouted that _Heroes_ was on and everyone piled into the room. Thatcher glued himself to my leg and left a nice puddle at the sudden commotion while Mikey dragged me to the monitoring area and asked if I had seen last week's episode. After admitting I'd never seen any of them before I was treated to a running storytelling that did not take commercial breaks nor –apparently- need to breathe. By the time the third act had started Raph was ready to kill Mikey; I was ready to let him. Despite Mikey's best efforts I was no closer to understanding the show than I had been before.

While the two of them unknowingly reenacted a popular scene my own brothers often went through I completely missed Leonardo leaving and getting pizza. When dinner was served it was again a scene I was more than familiar with (fortunately Mom had learned long ago to make enough for herself and Dad plus their garbage compactor offspring.) I quickly grabbed enough for myself and Thatcher (Yes they have a cat; sorry they're out of cat food till tomorrow).

While stripping Thatcher's piece of cheese, sausage and other doggy-toxins I noted that Quinn had only grabbed two pieces for herself. At first I worried that the mutation process negatively affected the appetite but Thatcher's whining for more –a lot more- food proved just the opposite.

Fortunately, with the smell of food in the air Thatcher seemed to forget his concerns in favor of begging. Despite my vigilance I noted both Mikey and Raph slipping Thatcher toppings that they would likely regret later. If there was any such thing as karma they'd regret it all over their beds.

The most surprising element of all was that by the end of the show, although still highly confused on the plot, I found myself to be comfortable. Sure I was the only absolute human in the place, but there was something familiar about being partially squished between two bodies watching TV while the …erm… _'dog'_ begged.

After the show the guys group broke up. Quinn seemed content, and half asleep, on the couch while Leo stood up and started issuing orders. Raphael was left behind to babysit while his brothers headed out on patrol. I don't know how they figured it out, but the guys seemed to figure out that I kind of wanted to stay but I was glad to hear it was acceptable. Mikey showed off with his nunchucks for a bit and Don promised we could start looking Thatcher over first thing in the morning. Before I could ask exactly what he meant by 'first thing in the morning' Leo had gotten Mikey's scattered attention and they had left.

After the three of them had gone it was relatively peaceful. Quinn fell asleep on the couch, her tail falling onto the floor while Thatcher crawled under the table and was soon snoring softly. Master Splinter reappeared and started watching some nighttime soaps while Raph attacked a punching bag hanging in what I had been told was called a 'dojo'. I wandered around a bit under the unseen but undoubtedly felt gaze of Raphael until I found some cleaning supplies and set to work trying to burn off my nervous energy on cleaning up after Thatcher (he'd been more productive than originally thought).

While some guy with a Spanish accent proclaimed his attraction to some bimbo who's late husband had just died of a rare and highly painful form of hangnail (I swear I wasn't paying attention…And I didn't almost cry… ) I noticed Master Splinter looking uncomfortably at the floor and wandered over to find that Thatch had left most of his large dinner on the floor –note; no more pizza for the mutant dragon.

I set to work cleaning the mess while Thatch looked guiltily out from under the coffee table. Just as I'd finished Quinn made the first noise she'd made since falling asleep.

"**_EAAAAAAAAAAHG!_**"

"GAH!"


	11. Quinn's nightmares begin

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter eleven; Quinn

* * *

"**_EAAAAAAAAAAHG!_**"

I jolted awake, saw Tammy, and shot over to cling to her like she was the one thing keeping me from certain death. I tried opening and closing my eyes, but it made no difference. He was everywhere and nowhere at once, laughing giddily and cooing and filling a syringe and designing my genetic makeup on a computer. The nightmare had followed me into the waking hours. It wouldn't stop; his voice kept talking to me in my head. _You're my beloved, only daughter…I love you…I know you'll come back to me…We're family!_ I felt sick.

Raph and Splinter must've pried me off of Tammy at some point, because the next thing I knew, I was on the floor, clutching desperately at myself. I looked up at Raph, Splinter and Tammy, I saw Elder standing behind them with a sick grin on his face—_I love you so much! Why are you being so difficult? I'm your father!_—and felt bile rising from my stomach.

"Bathroom!" I croaked, clapping a hand over my mouth. Raph looked confused, but Splinter seemed to go into parent-mode and pointed me in the right direction. I sprinted to the door and got inside just in time to empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet. A few more upheavals, and I was retching dry. The smell of the throw-up wasn't helping.

I gagged for a good while, and when that stopped I dragged myself to my feet and stood shakily in front of the sink to wash my face off with quivering hands. After that was over, I took a much-needed deep breath and raised my head.

And caught sight of my face in the mirror and started screaming all over again. There was shouting from outside and the bathroom was suddenly full. I felt hands on my shoulders and turned to press myself against what my nose identified as Donnie. I cried into his plastron, and he awkwardly rubbed circles on my back. When the tears stopped, I took another deep breath.

"Okay," I said into Donnie's chest, more to myself than anyone else and certainly a lot braver than I felt. I pulled back, still holding onto Donnie's left hand, and turned to face the mirror.

Slitted yellow eyes. Pink and purple striped fur that gave and eerie tinge to skin. Large, sharp incisors, more like fangs than teeth. Big pink-and-purple cat ears. Long semi-translucent white whiskers.

There was no way in hell that that was my face. The eyes were too big, and besides the obvious cat-features, my head was the wrong _shape_. Similar, but still so, so wrong.

I raised one hand to my nose and felt it. Wet. Damn. It was flatter than it had been, too. I missed my old nose. Along with everything else that had made my face _my_ face, actually. I especially wanted my green eyes back. These were still greenish, but not the forest-green they had been. And the little gold ring around the pupil was missing. God I had loved my eyes.

"I look like a freak," I whispered. A grin spread across my face. A giggle twittered through lips pulled back against pearly whites. "I mean, I was weird before, but this is just ridiculous!" It dawned on me that I might sound just a little bit crazy. Oh, well. That, at least, was nothing new.

I felt my eyes tearing up again and choked back a sob. "God," I choked. "I'm scary."

Some small semi-conscious part of my mind noted that I was experiencing severe mood swings. I made an effort to calm down, with tragic results.

"FML," I muttered, wiping my eyes. Okay. Calm. I could do this. Yes. Recovery was one of my strong suits, right? You. Can. Do. This.

I took a breath and twirled to face the turtles. It was then that I noticed I was still hanging onto Donnie's hand, and that my claws had dug into his skin, leaving welts. Way to go, Quinn.

I released his hand immediately. "Sorry," I said hoarsely, keeping my eyes on the floor. If I couldn't even bear to look at them, then the turtles and Tammy definitely shouldn't have to. I was freaking _scary_.

I saw Donnie flex his hand in what he probably thought was a discreet manner. Unfortunately my eyes were drawn to motion—cat's eyes are like that, right?—and I caught it, feeling awful. The concerned stares I was getting weren't helping—I could feel them boring into my face, despite my averted eyes.

"Thanks, guys," I croaked, mustering up a smile that I hoped didn't look _totally_ insane. I suppressed another crazy giggle. "I…I'm fine." I smiled up at them with closed eyes and lips, only opening them when I looked down again. "Really."

"Well…okay," Donnie said, the first to speak. Dear lord I loved that turtle. "But I'd still like to run a few scans in the lab, just to check." I heard him turn. "Tammy, you said you were a veterinary technician?"

She nodded. I thanked the heavens for super-hearing. I could see without seeing! Hallelujah!

"Would you mind helping me do a check-up on Quinn?"

"_I'm standing right here_," I wanted to say, but bit back the words. This was definitely not the time for witty remarks.

"Uh, sure," Tammy said. She still sounded a little stunned. I winced.

"Quinn, would you come with us please?" I nodded and followed Don's feet. I wouldn't be raising my eyes for a long time.

And I certainly wouldn't be sleeping, either.


	12. Tammy plays nurse

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter twelve; Tammy

* * *

If I ever have to get blood from Thatch again I'll never forgive myself. I needed him during the exam to do what I am incapable of doing, talking to somebody and making them feel better. Dogs are good at that, big dogs are better at it and apparently dragon dogs have the 'touch' as well.

In order to try and cheer Quinn up I had her hold Thatcher and then did the exam on both her and Thatcher. Donnie wasn't able to help as much as I'd hoped because A) He doesn't seem to have a lot of experience with animals other than that ginger cat I saw weaving through the lab, so that left me in charge of Thatcher's care. B) Quinn is a girl, I am a girl, Donnie… not a girl. I usually don't care about proper decorum but having a girl treat a girl is the best thing. So that left most of the exams to me. Fortunately Thatcher was able to keep Quinn calm, and I think having a dragon lick your whiskers tickles because Quinn did smile a little when Thatch rescued some stray pizza sauce from them.

Other than that she continued to be abnormally silent and refused to look Donatello or myself in the eye unless there was an ophthalmoscope between us. (She has a tapetum, that's kind of cool.)

When blood had to be taken Quinn grit her teeth and held her eyes closed. She held her arm out so stiffly it nearly shook and I'm not sure but I thought I heard a whimper when Donnie took the blood. In general she took it better than I do.

Thatch on the other hand has scales. I tried to be gentle but getting through his new armor hurt the poor thing. It took four _Liver Bites!_ from Donnie's secret stash for the cat before Thatch would forgive anyone.

Frankly the worst part of the exam (after Thatcher… poor thing) was when I handed a clean cup to Quinn and asked her to give me 10 ml of golden flow. Although her whiskers stiffened slightly she took it far too calmly as she went to the bathroom to follow orders.

I'm volunteering my services, the least she could do is look properly disgusted.

On the plus side, Mikey wasn't overly happy to learn he'd been drafted for "pee patrol" with Thatch so I at least got the pleasure of bugging a little brother, if not necessarily my own.

By the time Mikey comes into the lab with a messy cup and a disgruntled expression Don's already got the blood smears going and I'm comfortably set behind the microscope running a urinalysis on Quinn. Beside me Donnie has a counter clicking away with the occasional scratch of a pencil as he records what he sees. On my other side a centrifuge is bungi-corded to the table to keep it from rattling off the table as it spins down some more plasma. The room is filled with a sort of muted noise that I've grown accustomed to and enjoy.

Finally Donnie pulls his stool up next to me. "I'm done, how about you?"

"Hold it…" after scribbling down the number of leukocytes I see I can report; "Done."

We compare notes and I find myself wondering where the pencil I'm chewing has been. Red blood cell count; normal in both animals, although Thatch has a slight increase in young RBC's. Quinn has an increase in platelets, much like a cat. Both of them seem to have a left shift in leukocytes… er, that is, their immune system is putting out younger cells. Other than that everything looked normal in range for either a human, cat, dog, bird or reptile respective of the sample's owner.

Quinn will be pleased to learn that the cat who was used for her mutation was female… At least I hope she will… Oh dear, this presents possibilities…

The urine tests were the same, all within normal ranges for humans or animals exposed to recent stress. The only variation that concerned me I planned to confront Quinn on as soon as possible; she had a unusually high amount of lipids and oils in her urine, meaning she'd been eating too much fat and should probably cut back some. I mentioned this to Donnie and he agreed to empty all the cake from the fridge. He seemed more hesitant over the idea of cutting back on pizza for dinner but I think I convinced him to think about it.

Almost as soon as we'd reached our conclusion Michelangelo came in like he'd been waiting for us. "Hey guys! Good news? Are Quinn and Thatcher gonna live?" He asked.

Donnie smiled as we both started cleaning things up. "Yes Mike, they're both fine."

"Great!" For the second time in eight hours I was picked up without my permission and carried from the room.

"What?!?! HEY!"

"Come on! I found a third remote and Raph and Leo are being stuck up so that leaves you and Quinn!" He announced cheerfully as he tossed me over his shoulder and ran up the stairs, his shell digging into my gut with each hyper step.

"But! I-! ow." From my perch facing behind him I could see Don grin and shrug while Thatch gave a strangely yappy bark and followed us.

* * *

Wowzers! Four chapters in four days!

Sorry, don't get used to it, break begins tomorrow and I'm gone for the weekend. The next update on this story will be next weekend.


	13. Quinn zee kitty chef!

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter thirteen; Quinn

* * *

The examination was hellish, though having Thatcher on my lap made it bearable. I kept my eyes closed as much as I could and concentrated on just petting Thatcher. I'd always been a dog person, which made it just that much more ironic that I was now at least part cat.

The urine sample was embarrassing, but I didn't think about it and just got it over with. Whatever. I was glad when the whole thing was over, and hastily made my way into the living room, plopping unceremoniously onto the same end of the couch I'd fallen asleep on not too long ago. I was flipping through channels, not really paying attention to the images on the screen, when Mikey popped up in front of me. I nearly jumped out of my skin. It took me a moment to remember to close my eyes, or at least avert them.

I'd looked Mikey in the eye. Shoot. Even when I was normal my wide-eyed stare had creeped people out, including myself. Now that I had freakish, frightening yellow cat eyes, the effect was probably just that much worse.

Mikey explained that he wanted to play a video game, but Raph, Leo and Donnie were all busy or being unfair, so would I please play with him instead?

I was powerless to his blue eyes, and I agreed. Mikey had already left to recruit Tammy to his cause when I realized that I'd forgotten to look away once he started talking. Mikey returned not too later with Tammy, and I was surprised and elated when Mikey made no qualms about sitting next to me, with Tammy on the other side. I grinned despite myself and tentatively leaned against Mikey. He shot me a grin and my smile widened.

"So, um, Tammy, what did you find out from the tests?" I asked, then felt like slapping myself. Mikey was right there, you dope.

"There's…um," she said, glancing at Mikey, who was looking between the two of us with rampant interest. "I'll tell you about it after this. In private."

Tammy, I love you forever. God bless your soul.

"Okay," I said, hearing in my voice the relief I felt. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said, and a confused but still eager-to-play Mikey started the game. This time it was some kind of multiplayer-adventure game that I didn't recognize. We had to pick a race (elf, dwarf, halfling, thief, mage, wizard, druid, priest, jester, knight, shapeshifter, _whatever_), so of course I chose jester. Because…because. Just because. I just liked jesters. …And Raph had been one when the turtles entered a very similar game in Back to the Sewer. The memory brought a smile to my face that only widened once we started gameplay. My attacks were ridiculous! I had low stats in everything except Intelligence, which was only a little higher than normal, and Charisma and "Special", in both of which I was pretty much just pimpin, what with full stats and all. Whatever the hell "_Special_" was. And I doubted my Charisma was going to be coming in handy when fighting giant trolls. But I digress.

The next hour and a half was spent travelling around the virtual world, collecting supplies, solving puzzles, finding treasure, fighting, and leveling up. I proved to be next to useless; my "Special"ness didn't really come in handy very often, and I mostly just hid behind Mikey, or ran around recklessly attacking and getting killed, which was way too much fun. It also meant I never leveled up, however, so after a while I was pretty much just beat instantly upon entry into a battle while Tammy and Mikey—well, mostly Mikey—tanked on the opponents. It was fun to watch, and gave me an excuse to avoid looking at anyone in the process. I was one happy camper.

Eventually, though, the experience started to wear on me. Plus I got hungry, and that was always a good motivator. I explained my plight and was excused for…um…whatever meal took place during whatever time of day it was, and I opened the fridge to get some more cake.

Tammy, however, proved to have some sort of seventh sense, or at least eyes in the back of her head, because before I had even unwrapped it she was telling me not to eat it because it was unhealthy and etc., etc. I sulked, but put it back and searched for something else. There were eggs that were going to expire pretty soon, so I took those out. There was bread, too, and some milk. I asked Mikey where the spices were, then the mixing bowls and pans and got to making some French toast. I figured the guys would want some, since I hadn't seen them eat yet, so I made a huge batch. I had to ask Donnie for a pair of disposable gloves (the kind scientists and lunch ladies use), because my hands, like the rest of me, were covered in fur. The palms weren't, but I didn't want to shed in the food, so I wasn't taking any chances.

Raph must've smelled them cooking, because I heard him shouting down from the second level of the lair.

"HEY MIKEY, WHAT'S COOKIN'?"

"I DUNNO. QUINN'S MAKING SOMETHING."

There was a thud that signaled Raph's leap down to the first floor. He came ambling into the kitchen, and I smiled to myself.

"Hey, Raph," I said lightly.

"Hey," he grunted. He did that a _lot_. "What's all'a this?"

"French toast," I said. When he didn't respond, I chanced a look at his face.

"You don't know what French toast is?" my smile widened into a grin. "_Seriously_?"

He scowled and grunted. Again. "So?"

"Nevermind," I said quickly. The second group of four was done, and I started on the third. "Just try some." I bit into my own piece.

He walked over—good _God_ was he _quiet_—and took a piece for himself.  
I waited a few seconds, and sure enough heard an appreciative "it's good". Whatever. It was enough for me.

As in most families with four boys, the kitchen was soon full. Leo emerged from his meditation, Splinter decided he'd like to try some, Tammy was dragged in by Mikey, Thatcher followed Tammy, and Raph shouted at Donnie to "come up and get some food already". There were serious parallels to my own family, and I grinned as the amount of prepared food dwindled until I was making the last batch. Tammy, Leo and Donnie all complimented me and thanked me for the food, and of course Splinter did, too. I took Thatcher's eager slobber on my boots as thanks, so that left Raph and Mikey. After some prompting from Splinter, they both thanked me and I laughed to myself, again reminded of my own family. No sooner had I started to reminisce than I felt a pang in my chest.

Oh, right. I wasn't going to seeing my own family again. Ever. I found myself blinking back watery eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. _Just chill, Quinn. You're good at getting over emotionally traumatizing events, remember?_ Right. I could handle this. I flipped the last round of French toast onto a plate and set about eating it. Can you say 'comfort food'?

I noticed Tammy motioning to me from the corner of my eye, and when I turned she gestured for me to meet her in the bathroom. I walked casually to the bathroom, and she came in after me. She locked the door behind us and I made myself comfortable leaning against the wall.

"So…" she began, then trailed off, trying to find the right words. She was watching me—I could feel her gaze even though my eyes were fixed on the bath mat to my left. "Um, Quinn? About those tests... You see..."

Yup. Bad news.

"…Right! Well, I have good news and bad news!" I call bingo. Though the good news came as a bit of a surprise.

"Good news first please," I said. If she told me the bad news first, there was no way I'd be able to take in the good news.

"Okay," she began. "…Well, um, the blood smears from the testing proved that all-female cat was used in your DNA."

Oh, no. She couldn't mean…There was no way that I was—!

"Unfortunately, this means there's a possibility that you will go through certain…um, cycles."

_Nonononononono**no**_!

"Do you know what an estrous cycle is?"

Hot dam on a summer's day.

"Please tell me I heard you wrong," I said weakly.

"Sorry," she said, giving me a sheepish look. "And I mean, it'd not like it's definite. It's just a…theory."

"Uh huh," I said, calming myself. Right. I could cross that bridge once I came to it. "Okay. Um, thanks for the info, I guess." I shook my head to clear it and glanced up at Tammy, who was giving me an expression that I didn't look at long enough to decipher.

"Uh, sure," she said. I nodded. The silence that followed was stiflingly loud.

"I'd like to get changed," I supplied, when neither of us said anything or made a move to leave. I flinched at my wording. I really needed to work on tact.

"Oh," she said, awkwardly making for the door. Once she was gone, I locked the door again and put one of the spare towels on the floor, then emptied the clothing bag's contents onto it. Hmm. Two tank tops, a couple wife beaters, some t-shirts, sweatpants, jeans, shorts, underwear, bras, a comb, brush, toothbrush…even deodorant. I cursed myself for ever disliking April. The woman was a freaking _saint_.

The underwear fit, miracle of miracles, as did most of the other clothes. It was the first time in two days that I'd had such close-fitting clothes. It was comforting somehow. The jeans were a no-brainer, but presented a slight problem when taking my tail into consideration, so I tugged them as low as I could without it being indecent. In a brief bout of confidence in my figure, I threw on the two wife beaters, layered on top of each other. Hey, I may have been part cat, but I was still at least partially human, and female. I could wear low-cut tops if I wanted to, darnit! Besides, it wasn't like they were revealing _that_ much cleavage.

I brushed my hair, but since it was so short I couldn't pull it back into a looped ponytail like I usually did. Well, whatever. I packed the rest of the clothes up and strode out of the bathroom with false confidence.

I could handle this. I could totally handle whatever the universe threw at me.

…Right?

* * *

What are you doing still reading? Drop a review, then head over to CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com


	14. Tammy naps

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter fourteen; Tammy

* * *

The 'talk' hadn't gone at all well. I could see Quinn wasn't happy with the idea, but trying to talk about it further seemed a really bad idea. "I really need to take some speaking classes… and some counseling classes… or maybe I could go with that mountain hobo idea… I could be a female, Pentecostal monk…"

"Did you say something Tammy?" I looked up and blinked at Leonardo. I hadn't realized I was ranting aloud to myself… at least, not in front of anyone. He seemed to know that I hadn't intended to be talking to myself like that… or if I hadn't known it he would drag me to someone for schizoid therapy.

"Uh… nothing, just…" _think fast girl_ "Trying to figure out where I could grab some sleep." It wasn't until I'd said it that I realized the heavenly French Toast had been breakfast, and I really did need some sleep.

Lack of sleep seemed good enough for Leo as to an explanation for why I was talking to myself. "No problem, if you want you can take my bed."

I flushed, serious heat in my face. "Thanks but, um, well…" How do I explain this without sounding both really, really stupid or making it sound like I have a problem with his being a mutant? Sure the mutant thing was weird, but I can deal with that it was just… it was his _bed_. "I –I don't…" Honestly; I'd rather stay up.

A throat cleared behind me and I gratefully turned to see who it was. Master Splinter stood there with his walking stick busily scratching Thatcher's shoulders. He seemed amused at something. " Perhaps Miss Tammy would be more comfortable in the guest bedroom?" Splinter offered.

That was better, it wasn't great, but at least it didn't officially belong to anyone, especially not any male personage.

"Guest bedroom?" Leo asked.

"Yes, the guest bedroom. I had Raphael and Donatello fix it up while Michelangelo and Miss Quinn were 'melee-ing'." He explained without tripping over the non-word. Turning to me, Splinter explained, "It was intended for Miss Quinn, but I am sure she will not mind your resting there for a few hours."

"That would be great, thank you." I don't know why, but Master Splinter was the only one here I felt the need to be formal with… it was different, but kind of nice.

"Goodnight then." He said with a slight smile.

"Good morning." I replied, smiling myself. I turned to Leo, "Thanks, but I'd really rather not put you out of your own bed." That sounded alright, didn't it?

As I headed in the direction Master Splinter indicated I noted Quinn coming out of the bathroom and waved at her before heading to bed

"Hey! Tammy!" I turned towards Mikey as he caught up with me, "Just thought you'd want this back as soon as possible." He said, handing me a small bundle of rags about the size of a baseball.

"What…is it?" I asked. There was something squishy to the feel of whatever was in the rag and I certainly hoped it wasn't a fecal sample.

"It's that stick lady's cell phone!" He reported proudly.

I glanced from him to the bundle, back to him trying to decide whether I should ask exactly what _else_ might be wrapped in the rag. "Goodnight." I finally told him.

I _really_ needed some sleep.


	15. Quinn eyes the guys

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter fifteen; Quinn

* * *

I saw Tammy wave to me out of the corner of my eye, and reflexively I turned and waved back.

Whoops. Bad. Scary eyes. Look away.

I was about to avert my eyes when I realized how stupid I was being. Hadn't I been with the turtles for a while now? I would've noticed if they flinched while looking at me or meeting my gaze. Besides, they'd seen things much scarier than me. And Tammy had had no problem with looking at me during the check up.

I was acting like a spoiled little kid. When had I gotten so _whiny_?

It was right then that I decided that I could, in fact, act normally despite my anthropomorphic-cat state, and that I was damn well going to.

I entered the kitchen with a smile and unabashed gaze. Quinn was _back_, baby!

…Note to self: never use that phrase again. It just sounds weird when I say it. Or think it.

"Hey guys," I said, raising a hand and waving slightly. Donnie smiled at me, Raph continued eating, Leo nodded at me, and Mikey grinned and waved, calling me over with a mouth full of French toast. I smiled and practically skipped over to the table, sliding into a chair with only a faint rustling of fabric against its back. Damn that was cool.

"So what're you guys doing today?" I asked. I took another piece of French toast off the remains of what had once been a mountain and bit off the corner. The uneasy shift in the turtles' gaze, all three younger turtles' to Leo, drew my attention. I frowned. I'd ask him about that later.

"Well," Leo began, "Right now, I think it's time for us to train."

There was a collective groan from around the table.

I, on the other hand, was psyched.

I mean, come on! The opportunity to watch the turtles do their thing, katanas/bo/nunchuks/sais a-blazing? The chance to look at all the cool equipment and weapons? To see why they were so badass? Why they were so good at what they did?

I was so looking forward to this.

"Can I watch?" I asked, trying to remain calm. It didn't work all that well; my tail was still swishing furiously behind me. I noticed Mikey's eyes were following it back and forth, like he was in a trance. I choked back a laugh.

Leo frowned. "I'm not sure if—"

"Aw,_ please_, Leo?" Mikey whined, breaking out of his hypnotic state to give his brother the sad puppy face with his big, blue eyes.

Genius struck as I remembered Puss in Boots from Shrek. I mean, sure, it was a cartoon, but so was this. I turned to Leo and did my best impression of Puss's sad kitty face, pulling my ears down and making my lower lip quiver and eyes tear up. Leo looked between Mikey and I and caved.

"Alright," he sighed. Mikey and I high-fived each other. Victory was ours!

I followed the turtles to the dojo with excitement I was sure was visible despite my best efforts to keep it in check.

They started with simple warm-ups and stretches, which I watched with rapt attention despite the fact that they were barely moving. Hey, it was an excuse to stare at them without them thinking I was creepy. Don't judge me.

However, the weapon-covered walls caught my attention halfway through the exercises and my focus drifted onto them for a while. There were so many weapons, from so many different countries and time periods. I wondered if they'd let me touch them later.

And then the turtles started moving.

I watched with an open mouth as they each began their own set of practice exercises with their weapons. And went on to spar with each other.

In seconds I was totally and completely mesmerized, all my senses tuned in to the turtles, so that I barely noticed Tammy's arrival. And when I did, it was only by scent—there was no was in hell _anyone_ was going to get me to look away from the turtles. Besides, she seemed just as spellbound as I was. She didn't move from the doorway, completely silent and rooted to the spot. I didn't blame her; I think even my insufferable tail had stopped moving.

I was definitely going to ask them how to do that.


	16. Tammy does too

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe... Dr. Elder is CheshireDreaming's, the TMNT stuff belongs to...Nick? Oy.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter sixteen; Tammy

* * *

I was more tired than I thought. Although I didn't remember walking, I woke up to find myself staring at the most amazing sight I'd ever seen in my life.

Sparring practice.

Raphael and his sais were… pitchforks couldn't do what those sais were doing… normal people couldn't do what _he_ was doing. He was astounding in and of himself… and he had three brothers standing up to him without too much effort.

Michelangelo was no longer just Mikey and in no way did he remind me of my own little brother. His nunchucks were swirling rods of death and –in his hands- playthings.

Donatello's bo… it was beyond anything I'd considered simple wood capable of. Not only did the sound it made inform me that it could cleave flesh from flesh, but there was a certain beauty to the movement as well.

And then there was Leonardo. In his hands danced two metal blades, each longer than my arm. Works of both beauty and death. Somehow they were also a part of this usually quiet turtle I had come to know.

So this…_this_ was what a real warrior looked like.

A familiar sense of longing welled up in my chest while at the same time being crushed. There was no possible way I could ever be like that… but maybe I could ask for a lesson?

Slowly I became aware of somebody either attempting to decimate my clothing or picking a really bad time to try and pants me. I looked down and saw Thatch tugging on my pant leg with his teeth. He was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. As an animal he had no way to understand the beauty of the ninja before him, he only saw fighting and did not want to be anywhere near that fast movement.

"Look out!" "Ah shell!"

_Tock_

I looked up just in time to see something flying at me one instant and the next a length of wood being held right in front of me.

Everyone hurried over to see if I was alright and congratulate Master Splinter on his –how did Mikey put it?- mad ninja skills.

Master Splinter remained calm as he gripped the handle of his red masked student's sais. With a strong yank he pulled it loose from his walking stick and returned it to Raphael. "You should avoid letting Michelangelo disarm you with that technique." He cautioned. "Remember, it is better not to directly block nunchucks." Raph nodded solemnly as he accepted his weapon and returned it to his belt. To Mikey Splinter added a terse, "Pay more attention to the possible results of your actions Michelangelo."

Mikey cringed for a moment before adding. "Heh, right. Sorry 'bout that Tammy."

"It's alright, really, I should have paid more attention..." I insisted. Splinter's words to his sons reminded me of my own father telling us time and time again to always be alert when weapons were nearby. Usually he meant guns but this really was no different, as I'd just found out. "I…"

_I want to move like that. I want to be able to protect myself when I'm unarmed. I want to protect others. I want to be a real warrior. Please teach me …_

"I'd better get Thatcher somewhere where he won't have to worry so much." I covered. Leaning down, I held out my arms and Thatch happily jumped into them, glad that I had finally gained enough sense to go away from these turtles and what he must assume was a territorial dispute or an attempt to usurp the social order of the turtles' 'pack'.

As I carried Thatch back to the bedroom I couldn't help but feel distracted by what I had seen.

It was _amazing_. I'd never seen anybody move like that… not even on TV. Sure I was jealous, but there was also something else, a distinct sense of longing…

I left Thatch in the guest bedroom and left him long enough to use the bathroom. After washing my hands I glanced in the mirror and noticed the mess that was my hair. While I normally don't care, this time it reminded me that I hadn't changed my clothes since yesterday afternoon and Mikey hadn't exactly given me any time to pack. That meant I would have to go back to the surface soon and _that_ meant I would have to leave Thatch.

…What if the mutants decided Thatch didn't need me? Honestly it was true, he'd be better off if I just left a typed order for him to eat dog food and no more people food… I should probably just head back to the lab and get the evidence I needed against Dr. Elder without ever stepping foot in the sewers again… but I sure as heck didn't want that. I had grown to love Thatch… and I really liked the guys… Quinn was pretty cool too…

I was no more focused on my surroundings now than I had been in the dojo. Out of habit I followed the wall as I headed back to the guest bedroom while buried in my thoughts.

Imagine my surprise when a giant of a man with a giant of a hand grabbed me by the arm, hauled me off my feet and shoved me against the wall. The guy looked mad enough to use a baseball for chew while he shook a bat in my face and shouted at me. It took a full minute to sort through his thick accent to glean, "Who the heck are ya, what are ya doin' in my buddies' pad and give me one good reason why I shouldn't cave yer head in! An' don' think bein' a girl gets you off chick!"

And to think, the Cheyenne Animal Clinic offered to pay me for my last clinical. Did I accept? _No-o!_ I had to go to New York, expand my horizons, experience new things, get my brains bashed in by a lunatic in a mutant family's living room.


	17. Quinn meets Casey Jones

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe... Dr. Elder is CheshireDreaming's, the TMNT stuff belongs to...Nick? Oy.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Posting this chapter early to allow some Cliffy stress ;p

* * *

Chapter seventeen; Quinn

* * *

"Look out!" "Ah shell!"

_Tock_

When I came to my senses, I was in the corner of the room, crouched low like a feral animal and mouth open in a growl. I was pretty sure my fur was standing on end, too, but it was so short that it probably looked like that normally.

I did a quick survey of the room and deduced that Raph's sai had slipped out of his hand and gone towards Tammy, but had been intercepted by Splinter. Thank God for the ninja rat, with his mad ninja skills.

On the other hand, how the hell had I gotten all the way over here? I vaguely remembered jumping backwards, but that was it. Had I just spazzed out or something? Maybe the close encounter with the sai made me have an episode. Or maybe it was the emergence of mad cat reflexes. _Damn_ that would be cool—but not so much if I couldn't remember it, actually. Huh. Still, though.

Somewhere in the conversation Tammy excused herself and left with Thatcher. Donnie seemed to notice my absence from the conversation and started to turn to look for me. I was standing again in seconds, flattening the fur on my tail back down manually.

"How did you get over there?" he asked, eyebrow-ridges knotting together.

"I, uh, jumped," I said, laughing a little. He looked shocked. "No, really. My reflexes be pimpin'." Looking back, I must've still been pretty hyped up on adrenaline. The "joke" didn't even make sense, thus making the dubious expression Donnie aimed my way well-deserved.

I made my way over to the turtles.

"That was amazing, by the way," I giggled. Raph shot me a glare, and realizing my mistake I rushed to correct it. "The practice, I mean. I mean, you were so fast and those lightning-fast moves and…" After that, it was all mindless babble. Basically all my pent-up fangirlishness came spewing out like it'd been shot from a cannon. Mikey looked delighted, Leo was stunned, Raph was still angsting over his slip-up, and Donnie was giving me that worried look again.

Suddenly, there was a whole lot of shouting coming from the living room.

Holy shit. I peeked around the edge of the open doorway and saw a giant stranger, towering over Tammy and looking about ready to kill. Thatcher was cowering behind her.

Something in me snapped. I snarled and launched myself at the man, tearing him away from a shell-shocked Tammy.

He was shouting, but I couldn't really make out what he was saying. I was too concentrated on scratching his face off. Which was harder than my feline instincts had thought, due to his grabbing my forearms and immobilizing them. In return, I yowled in his face and pounded my feet into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. I was gaining the upper hand when I was suddenly pulled off the man. I squirmed, scratching at the arms holding me captive, until I heard the colorful curses coming from my captor, and a familiar scent reached my nose. It was Raph.

I shut down.

Oh, God. I'd finally gone and done it. I'd attacked one of the turtles. _Raph_, no less. I was doomed. They were going to kick me out or lock me up or—

I felt myself being released onto the ground. I landed in a crouch and looked over my shoulder. Hot _damn_. I'd really done a number on Raph's arms. Not to mention the big heavily-muscled guy, who it turned out was actually the turtles' friend. _Casey_. I felt miserable as I watched Tammy and Donnie tend to the wounded.

I had just royally screwed myself over.


	18. Tammy the bad nurse

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe... Dr. Elder is CheshireDreaming's, the TMNT stuff belongs to...Nick? Oy.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter eighteen; Tammy

* * *

_Slap_ "OW! Hey, what was that for?"

"You scared my dog." I grumbled, smoothing the gauze over this "Jones" guy's arm and taping it in place.

_Slap_ "Geeze! Raph's a better nurse, what was _that_ for?!"

"I don't like getting manhandled and threatened anymore than I like Thatch getting scared." I retorted as I taped the last of his bandages in place.

Quinn had really done a number on him. His face was a mess and his arms were almost solid with deep scratches, but considering this jerk's attitude I think he was going to be happy that he'd protected his face enough that all scars would be regulated to his arms.

Jerk.

Raph was fine, being grabbed from behind seemed to make it difficult to do much serious damage with claws and considering his size I was pretty sure that if we could ward off infection he'd be peachy as well. More than peachy, Donnie wasn't slapping gauze on Raph's injuries.

The guy scared me earlier, but he had looked so sheepish when Donnie, Leo _and_ Splinter had lectured him about attacking random guests that I felt the fear melt away and quickly get replaced by annoyance.

He _scared_ my dog! …er… dragon thing… I'm going to have to pick something and stick with it.

And he attacked me! Wyoming girls do _not_ like getting attacked twice in three days thank you!

Finally convinced that he was ' properly treated' and that no paperwork was going to be involved, I stood and looked around the lair for Quinn. As soon as I spotted her in the monitoring area I headed over. What had happened… probably wasn't good. She'd lost control and acted almost feral… almost. But now wasn't the time for psycho analysis… especially since I hardly knew more than the dead basics of psychology and next to nothing about Quinn herself.

"Quinn?" I asked as soon as I got close enough.

She looked up. I could see the tips of her ears and her whiskers trembling and had a vague idea of what might be keying her up so badly. "I…" Oh geeze, when am I going to learn basic communication skills? "I wanted to thank you." That was too formal, "I mean; Mr. Jones isn't a little guy. Heck, he's the biggest guy I ever met who wasn't fat." Did that sound weird? Oh well, too late now. "So, um, thanks."

She managed a small smile, "You're welcome." Just then, with a sound that was either a happy yip or a bark, Thatch jumped up on the couch and crawled forward until his front paws were on Quinn's lap. After rubbing his nose on her leg he looked up at her with doggy gratitude, tongue lolling.

I glanced at the TV, which was muted and running through the news. In the bottom corner I noticed the ticker-tape thing had a clock, it was getting on towards noon. "So," I asked, trying to think of a way to calm her down. "Do you like sweet pickles on your grilled cheese sandwiches?"

She gave me a look I couldn't quite read. "Not particularly." Quinn answered. Thatch sneezed –critic. "But I'll eat just about anything edible." Yeah, no. I don't like people eating my food just because it's edible. They either like it or I try again!

"I'll just leave the pickles off then." I smiled at her before hurrying off to the kitchen. Glancing over my shoulder I saw Thatcher sit up, but after debating a moment he decided to stick with the one scratching his neck.

Darn, I'm kind of getting used to him following me around. But the tactile stimulation was good for him…

In the kitchen I quickly set up shop, there was cheese in the fridge, butter, bread… by the time Mikey wandered into the kitchen I was under way grilling four sandwiches and prepping the next four. The orange banded turtles frowned. "Ya know, having girls around is cool, but the kitchen is still _mine_." He pouted.

I had to laugh. "Mikey, there are a lot of mouths to feed, and a lot of these mouths eat a ton, can I get some help?"

He agreed and between the two of us we made enough grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone to have two… then we ran out of bread. Mikey pulled out several bags of chips while I raided the nearly empty fridge for fruits or veggies. I set out what I could find and eyed the celery suspiciously, it looked hairy.  
"How's your nose?" I asked.

The orange masked turtle rubbed at his beak. "Cool and dry." he quipped. "Why?"

I shot him my best 'you're being annoying on purpose' look and politely stuffed the celery under his nose. He obediently sniffed before jumping back and hooting while waving his hand in front of his face. "Aw shell! Why didn't you smell it yourself?! You knew it was bad!"

Sometimes, having a blind nose has its advantages. I smirked, "Um. Sorry." I apologized with all the sincerity of crocodile tears. "I needed a second opinion." The celery flew into the trash. I considered for a second before turning back to him. "Listen, I need to get back to my apartment and return the landlady's cell phone." And take a shower, and change clothes, and pick up my notes on reptilian biology and genetic mutation (all one page of it.)… I could probably go to the library and pick a few books up there… "If I promise to do some grocery shopping, could you show me the way topside after lunch?"

The turtle mulled it over for a bit, "If you promise to do the shopping and you promise not to shove rotten veggies at me anymore." He negotiated with a pout.

I had to smile. "Deal."

Turning to the door we both braced ourselves for a stampede before shouting. "LUNCH!"


	19. Quinn by day

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe... Dr. Elder is CheshireDreaming's, the TMNT stuff belongs to...Nick? Oy.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter nineteen; Quinn

* * *

The monitoring area was excruciatingly boring, to the point where it was downright mind-numbing. Which was good, because that was exactly what I'd been hoping for. Having Thatcher on my lap further calmed me, helping even more than the monotonous views on the screens. God, I had never thought New York was so _boring_.

It was wonderful.

I just sat there like that, and eventually my eyes slipped closed. The noise of the world around me dimmed to a background buzz, and I concentrated on petting Thatcher's head, rubbing circles in the scaly skin and scratching behind his ears.

I was close to falling asleep when the call for lunch echoed through the lair. Thatcher immediately perked up, and I opened one eye to see him staring pointedly in the direction of the kitchen. I laughed a little and lifted my hand from his hand. He was instantly bounding off to Tammy and the promise of food. I sniffed the air and caught the scent of cheese, butter, and bread, and a wisp of something that smelled horrendously rotten.

I mean what the hell? I'm never caught so many decomposers in one breath of air—and that was from all the way out here. I was staying away from that kitchen, thank you very much.

I was settling back into the most comfortable position to watch the monitors in, but then I heard the approach of footsteps and the calm, even breathing that I could only assume belonged to Splinter. I wheeled around in the chair, resisting the urge to continue spinning around in it like I usually did.

"Hey," I said, waving a hand in greeting. Thank god I'd cleaned the blood off them earlier. I shuddered at the thought of what I'd done to Casey—though he had kind of deserved it. Some of it, anyway. Not necessarily a maiming, but a few scratches would've served him right. And then I remembered what I'd done to Raph.

"I'm so sorry," I said quickly. "I was really high on adrenaline and I saw Casey and it looked like he was going to beat up Tammy Thatcher and I sort of…" I gestured ineffectually with my hands. "…spazzed. I mean I didn't _mean_ to it just sort of just happened and I—"

Splinter held up a hand to stop me, and I shut up. His gaze wasn't accusatory, or angry, or even annoyed. He just looked serene and wise and furry. Like usual.

"It is alright." He waved his hand and it was as if the whole thing was right as rain. Except that it still most definitely was not. I had no idea how I was going to face Raph and Casey, let alone explain to them that I wasn't _actually_ a complete and total psychopath.

"Come with me." I followed him into what I quickly realized was his personal quarters, recognizing it by the polished table, tatami mats, and the calligraphy hanging from the walls. I hovered by the door while Splinter seated himself on the floor on the far side of the room.

"Sit."

I collapsed awkwardly to the floor, legs somehow managing to fold themselves into criss-cross-applesauce position.

"You have been feeling troubled." It wasn't a question. Anyone with half a brain could see that I was feeling more than a little _"troubled"_ lately.

"As it may be unwise to continue harboring volatile emotions"—understatement of the _year_—"I would like to suggest meditation."

We stared at each other for a while before I realized he was waiting for me to say something.

"Oh, right. I mean, thanks." He smiled at me, eyes twinkling before he closed them.

"Relax," he instructed, and I let go of a breath I hadn't even known I was holding. "Close your eyes. Find your center. Take deep, slow breaths." He paused between sentences to give me time to follow his directions.

"Keep your mind clear," he continued. "Do not allow emotions to cloud your thoughts. Release them, find peace within yourself."

Uhhh…sure?

I did my best to "release my emotions" and let my mind go blank. Which was pretty much impossible, let me tell you. My mind, as previously mentioned, is a chaotic free-for-all of ideas and random tangents of thoughts. My overactive imagination wasn't keen on being put to rest, either.

Since the whole meditating thing wasn't going so well, I let my thoughts drift, going to my happy place. My, but imagining yourself flying was fun. As was cloud-watching and taking strolls through forests. And surrounding yourself with imaginary friends and original characters.

I could've fallen asleep for all I know, but eventually I heard Splinter's voice calling me.

I opened my eyes and saw Splinter standing right in front of me, offering a hand to help me up.

"That is enough meditation for now." I took his hand and he pulled me up with strength I didn't know he had. "You have done well."

"Um, about that," I started, fiddling with the edge of my tail. "I wasn't exactly, um, meditating. Well, sort of….Not really."

The old rat raised an eyebrow. "Then what were you doing?" He didn't sound angry, just curious and…amused?

"I went to my happy place."

Okay, now he was definitely smiling. Gee, thanks, Splinter. Just because you're wise and have mad ninja skills does not mean you get to laugh at my failure to concentrate.

"Most interesting."

"Ahaha," I said dryly. As much as I respected and loved the guy, I was still just a bit ticked at him for thinking my failure was funny. "Yes. It's hilarious. I'll try harder next time. Can I go now?"

He was instantly serene. Ha, Instant-Serenity. Just add water…

"I was not laughing at you, Quinn." Sure you weren't. "Rather, I think you and my son Leonardo should try using each other's meditation methods. His mind is very controlled, and his meditation reflects this. Yours, however…" He was smiling again, damn him, but I refused to take offense to it this time. He clearly didn't mean any harm.

"Is a mess?" I offered. The twinkle in his eyes was enough of an answer.

"So you want Leo and I to meditate together sometime?"

"Yes. I think that both of you would benefit from the exercise." I nodded.

"I believe my sons and Casey have finished eating," Splinter noted, gesturing for us to exit the room. We ventured outside just in time to see Tammy attempting to leave, and Thatcher trying to follow. Mikey was waiting for her, so I assumed he was going to be the escort. The rest of the gang was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Casey. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I caught Tammy's eye and waved. "I'll get Thatcher."

I jumped up the stairs and made a beeline for the dragon-dog, kneeling next to him and scratching his head. It was enough of a distraction for Tammy and Mikey to make their getaway. Once they were out of sight and hearing range, I stood and led Thatch into the living room. It was pretty lonely without Mikey there. Then again, Raph, Donnie and Leo were still around, right?

No, wait, scratch that; I could hear Leo and Raph arguing about something. There was no way I was getting involved in that, especially after…recent events.

Instead, I headed for Donnie's lab, knowing that if he was anywhere, it would be there. Thatcher followed at my heels, and I smiled when I felt his head bump against the inside of my knee.

Sure enough, Donnie was there, sitting in front of a glowing computer screen, headphones on and totally focused. When he didn't react to my arrival, I took the liberty of seating myself on the table next to the computer he was using.

"What's that?" I asked, glancing at the string of code before turning my attention back to Thatcher, who was begging to be petted.

"I'm programming the computer," he explained.

"Oh." To be honest I wasn't actually all that impressed; I knew what Donnie was capable of, and anyways it seemed like something one of the kids at my school would do. A lot of them, guys especially, were way into programming. As for me, well…html had never really been my thing. I was better at math and writing and engineering, though the engineering part was only to be expected when attending my school.

"Why make a new computer when you have so many?" I didn't even realize I'd said it out loud until Donnie started answering.

"It's always good to have another back-up," Donnie muttered. I heard an undertone of resentment in his words. "Mikey, Raph and Leo have a way of breaking stuff just by touching it."

I grinned, recalling various incidents from the show(s). "Still, you could just use a flash drive."

He shrugged, and I picked my brain for something to change the subject.

Then I smelled something. It smelled like…a man—no, a cat. A male cat. Why hadn't I noticed this before? I was such a ditz.

"Do you have a cat?" I asked bluntly, forgoing any semblance of tact. Tammy and my talk of certain cycles came to mind and I groaned inwardly. Hopefully having a male cat around if that ever happened would not be a problem. Hopefully it would never come to that.

"Yeah," Donnie said. He sounded distracted, still typing html. "His name is Klunk. Mikey brought him home when he was a stray."

"Hmm." Point one for the cartoons…or the comic books, actually. Maybe this version of the TMNT-verse was a mash-up of all the previous versions?

I watched Donnie type for a while. It was riveting. So much so that I decided it would be a good time to answer my stomach's complaints of emptiness and go find some food. Oh, and apologize to Raph and Casey, if possible. As much as I love Donnie, he can be a little too obsessed with tech sometimes.

I bid a distracted Donnie farewell and headed to the kitchen. Unfortunately, there were no sandwiches left, so I set to searching the fridge. I pulled open one of the drawers to reveal a horde of small, foil-wrapped triangular prisms.

Cake.

Hot damn. Obviously someone had made a bid to hide them, probably to keep the cake from Splinter and I because we would probably eat only cake if given the chance.

I looked around to make sure no one was watching and snatched a piece at random, practically inhaling it. Mmmm, butter cream frosting. Delicious. Splinter and I would definitely have to have a talk about the cake sometime.

Which reminded me—I needed to thank Mikey for bringing it back to the lair in the first place. A little voice at the back of my mind told me not to, and when I went looking for a reason for the apprehension, I came out with the knowledge that if I did thank him, it would be weird since I wasn't supposed to know that he'd had a catering job, or that he'd brought it home for Splinter. Guess Splinter and I wouldn't be having that cake conversation after all.

I destroyed all evidence, making sure the foil wrapper was out of sight in the trash can and leaving the scene before suspicion could be aroused. I downed a glass of water and set out to find Raph and Casey.

They weren't all that hard to find; all I had to do was follow the sounds of manly conversation to Raph's room, where he and Casey were apparently having a guy-talk. About…guy stuff. Whatever.

I knocked on the door.

"Yeah," Raph called from inside. I took that as an invitation to enter, so I just pushed the door open and went in.

Once inside, I was momentarily stunned by the fact that this was Raph's room. And I was in it. It was unreal.

Not that it was a particularly awesome room or anything; in fact, it was messy, and dimly lit, and smelled like…Raph. There was some other stuff too, but pretty much everything was drenched in his smell.

Man, scent recognition was cool.

"Hi guys," I said. "I wanted to apologize for earlier." There. That wasn't so hard, was it? It even came out smoothly. Just keep going. "And thanks, Raph, for stopping me."

He grunted, giving me the guy-nod. "No problem."

Casey looked a little less sure, but he nodded, too.

And that was it. The conversation fell flat, and after an eternity of awkward silence, I left.

"Bye guys." They grunted their own good-byes and I closed the door behind me.

I turned on the TV and flicked through channels. Nothing good was on. Damn.

I thought about going to sleep—and then thought of the nightmares and immediately shrank from the idea. I was _not _going through that again. To make sure of it, I cooked up a pot of coffee and, after half an hour (or so) of trying to find a mug, sat back on the couch to watch _My Wife, Your Wife, Our Wives_ and nurse a good dose of caffeine.

There was no way in hell I was going to sleep.


	20. Tammy's apartment

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe... Dr. Elder is CheshireDreaming's, the TMNT stuff belongs to...Nick? Oy.

This story was co-authored by myself and CheshireDreaming. She did all the planning and instigated the story so the vast majority of credit goes to her *applause*. You can find her account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com

* * *

Chapter twenty; Tammy

* * *

I'm not sure, but I think Mr. Jones has gotten over the whole 'mean nurse' bit. He even thanked me for the sandwiches (He got two of Mikey's, but who am I to argue?) Unfortunately Quinn didn't come in for lunch, I wondered if the reason for this was her mysteriously low appetite lately, or the sandwiches in particular, or the wide berth everyone was giving the trashcan.

My bet is on the trashcan.

Mikey agreed to take me topside. What started as a simple 'guide to the surface' somehow turned into a 'body guard for the duration of the trip' when he asked permission but until I get my gun back or replaced, who was the country bumpkin to argue? How was I to know how frequently ninja swarms attacked?

After lunch was eaten (plague of locust I'm telling you! Even Quinn's food vanished somewhere… and Thatch was looking far too happy… ) Mikey and I cleaned up and were trying to leave when Thatcher decided he wanted to come too. Much as I'm starting to love the little guy, he'd stick out worse than Mikey's ratty trench coat and Indiana Jones hat thing.

Fortunately Quinn came to our rescue and distracted Thatch long enough for Mikey and I to make a run for it. Mentally I added 'get something Quinn might like' to the shopping list as we scurried out the main entrance.

The trek through the sewers wasn't any more familiar to me than the first time, but sure enough when Mikey shoved aside the manhole cover and helped me into the sunshine we were in the alley next to my apartment building. I led the way up to my room, only to be accosted by a panicked landlady and one mildly amused cop.

Ms. Harris latched onto me like a long lost daughter, and started sobbing. "My dear Pamela!" She sobbed. "I was so worried!"

"Tammy, my name is Tammy." I insisted, trying to pry myself loose and ignore the snickers coming from a certain individual hiding around the corner. The cop just seemed relieved that his paperwork had gotten smaller.

"You simply vanished last night, and then that nice, handsome man came looking for you and I let him into your apartment..." Suddenly I shivered, actually feeling the blood drain from my face… what man knew that I was in New York? (Other than the officer, who was looking far too entertained by my discomfort… and Mr. Jones… ) As far as I knew it could only be Dr. Elder… but why?

And if it wasn't him, who was it?

"…and I couldn't find you! I know I need to wait twenty-four hours, but you disappeared and I was so sure… um…" She sniffed. "What is that smell?"

What was what… OH! There was only one item on my person –other than me- which would smell. It took every bit of acting I could muster not to smirk as I finally pulled free and reached into my pocket. Out came a wad of paper towels holding sweet, sweet revenge for that woman touching me. "I ran after a cat that had snuck into my apartment and long story short; I got your phone back!" Without hesitating she took the phone back, then went stock still as she recognized the squish.

It's official, I love that dragon.

After this it was a simple matter to convince the cop (officer… I'm terrible with names, nice guy though) that Ms. Harris might not be completely on her rocker. I soon got past him and went to my apartment, trying not to grumble about the loss of privacy as I pushed my unlocked door open.

"What kind of landlady calls the cops when you're gone for, like, one night?" Mikey was already in my apartment, coat tossed aside and spinning his hat around one finger. "Dudette? You okay?" He asked curiously. I took another moment to keep glaring at him while making sure my heart did not, in fact, leap out of my chest. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd ever get used to ninja.

Finally I was able to function. First thing I did was toss Mikey the remote and point him in the direction of my movie collection. Once I was sure he was distracted I quickly grabbed some clean clothes and a towel. One shower later I emerged from the bathroom toweling my hair dry in time to see Mikey sniffling and brushing at his mask. I kind of wondered what he'd picked and on closer inspection I was mystified to find he was watching a Sci-fi flick, not even one of the sad ones.

I left the turtle to his own devices as I quickly riffled through my notes, grabbing anything I thought I might need and stuffing it into my backpack along with a few necessities if this turned into another overnighter. Just as the credits on the movie started to roll I stuffed my wallet into my front jeans pocket and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

"Okay, you're the local guy." I told Mikey while he put away the DVD and I jammed a chair under the door handle to avoid any further intrusions into an apartment I'm already paying too much for. "How's the best way to get from here to the nearest grocers?"

Suddenly his face lit up in a grin. "The skyway, hands down!" He announced.

I frowned, hitching up my backpack again. "They skyway? I don't remember hearing about tha-a-augh!"

Three times in twenty-four hours Mikey had picked me up and carried me to wherever he wanted without my being able to argue in the least… I'm not sure which is worse, the rooftop run that followed or the fact that I was getting used to this.


	21. Quinn's caffeine buzz

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for anything good coming out of this story.

Again, a slight language warning but when you find out why, can you really blame the girl?

* * *

Chapter twenty-one; Quinn

* * *

It was hours later when Tammy showed up again. And I'd been awake the whole time (unlike Thatcher, asleep beside me on the couch), thanks to my new best friend, coffee, and a few tapes of Heroes episodes that I'd found lying around (there was also Star Trek, which I made a mental note to watch later). The guys were all doing their own things around the lair, so I kept the volume low. Which thankfully wasn't a problem for my new ears.

I needed a distraction from the world right now. A really big one. And really, when there's that much badass, superpowers and hot guys on screen, you can count on me being very, _very_ distracted. The epitome of these three I found in Sylar, played by Zachary Quinto, one of my favorite actors.

So, yes, I was drowning my stress and bad dreams in coffee and Quinto. Both very steamy and delicious.

But I digress.

The volume on the TV was so low that when the door to the lair clanked open, I jumped, which in turn woke up the sleeping Thatcher. He freaked out, fell onto the floor, scrambled to his feet, and hid under the table. I twisted around to watch Mikey loudly announcing his arrival for all to hear as he and Tammy reentered the lair. With a bunch of shopping bags. Hmm. That was a lot of groceries. I could smell bread, eggs, and a whole lot of other stuff that my newly-awesome nose wasn't fully acquainted with yet.

I did a quick check to make sure that Thatcher was okay before vaulting over the back of the couch (now made much easier thanks to a very flexible spine and awesome leg muscles) to be nosy.

"That's a lot of groceries," I said by way of greeting. Nice, Quinn.

"Yeah," Mikey whined. "I kept telling her we just eat pizza anyway, but she wouldn't listeeeeennn," he moaned.

Tammy looked really worn out. I couldn't blame her. Mikey was sweet and fun, but even so, his level of activity could not be easy to put up with for so many hours on end. And without video games with which to vent it, he must've released the energy through sheer jaw movement. Dear god.

"And I keep telling you, Quinn and Thatcher should not be eating so much junk food," she responded flatly, in a tone that indicated this was not the first time they'd had this conversation. "You shouldn't, either, but you're a hopeless case."

Mikey grinned and held up his hands, despite the weight of the bags he carried. "Got me there. I'd die without m&m's and Doritos. And pizza."

She sighed good-naturedly and shook her head. "Unhealthy reptile."

"Healthy human." He stuck out his tongue, making Tammy smile. She shifted her gaze to me.

"I, um, got some stuff for you." She handed me one of the smaller bags, and I peeked inside. My eyes nearly bugged out of my skull. When I looked back up at her, it was with worship. I gave the surprised Tammy a quick, hard hug.

"A Sylar poster. You didn't."

She smiled a little, shrugged. "I kind of owed you."

I frowned. "For what…?" Realization hit me. Casey. "Oh." Huh. I guess not everyone considered it a bad thing that I'd nearly mauled one of the turtle's closest friends. "Uh, you're welcome, I guess. And thanks."

Tammy smiled again. "No problem."

I was flat out grinning. Screw freaking people out, I was ecstatic. A poster and some basic feminine necessities weren't typically something to get so excited over, but I was happy out of my mind. Must've been the coffee. And lack of sleep. And general weirdness of my life at present.

Well, whatever, I was going to get that poster up now. It occurred to me I would need thumbtacks or putty or something to keep on the wall, so I set out to find such things.

"DONNIE," I yelled down into the lab. "DO YOU HAVE THUMBTACKS? OR THAT WEIRD PUTTY STUFF?"

There was an affirmative grunt—Donnie was likely in the process of working on a computer or doing repair work to the turtles' other tech, hence the lack of proper speech—and a pack of thumbtacks was tossed my way. I called down my thanks and left with a skip in my step. The poster was up in minutes, looking Sylar-y and overall very…_normal_ on the wall in my new room.

It was both comforting and eerie at the same time. A reminder that this world was almost identical to the one I was from, minus mutie-me, the turtles and their sensei (and possibly Leatherhead), the Shredder, the Foot, other ninja, various supernatural beings…Okay, so maybe it was more than a little different. But it still had Heroes, and a lot of other stuff I was familiar with. Like GameCube and Pizza Hut.

And the ninja turtles, but here they were alive.

I busied myself with rearranging my room a little, mostly just moving items and putting stuff into drawers. There was a towel-wrapped bundle on the dresser, and when I opened it, it was my clothes.

Oh, right. I'd left them in the bathroom. Oops. One of the turtles had probably found the mess I left and wrapped them up in the blanket they were on in order for transport. I giggled at the thoughtfulness and at the same time, shyness of the act, since they hadn't just brought in the clothes without the towel or opened the towel after bringing the bundle in.

Judging by the neatness and style of the packaging, which reminded me of bentō, it had probably been Leonardo, who had no doubt found the clothes during an attempt to shower after the training session I'd seen. Hmm. I would have to thank him for that later. And that reminded me; Splinter had said we should meditate together. I'd work on that.

In the meantime, I was in need of some more coffee, so I headed for the kitchen with the intention of refilling my mug only to find Don polishing off what had, the last time I'd seen it, been a half-full pot. He'd drank half the pot? And hadn't left me any? Oh, I was going to be in a good mood when the current caffeine dosage wore off.

"Hey," I greeted, surprised to see him out of the lab. Then again, the smell of coffee had probably lured him out. Note to self: make coffee more often.

He glanced up at me, then refocused his attention on the coffee. "Hey."

It was weird. We were suddenly alone. Don and I. Alone. And he wasn't occupied with a computer. I felt butterflies rise in my stomach. Ugh, I'd over thought it. He's just getting coffee, stupid.

He turned to me and the amount of butterflies increased exponentially. I wasn't even annoyed about the coffee anymore.

"Mikey makes coffee for me sometimes," he said.

Wait, what?

…Oh.

I almost laughed. He thought Mikey had made the coffee. Hah.

"Yeah, and sometimes I make it for myself," I replied, allowing myself a smirk. He looked confused, then realization dawned on him. He looked from his mug, to me, to the coffee machine.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, looking a little too apologetic. "I'm sorry. I'll make another pot."

I smiled. "Thanks. It's not that big of a deal, but…yeah. I was kind of counting on that coffee still being there. Not that I mind sharing, I just…kind of need more coffee," I finished lamely. Replaying the words in my head, I sounded like an addict. Damn.

To my surprise, he nodded. "Yeah, I haven't gotten much sleep either." Okay, maybe I hadn't sounded so bad after all.

And then he got that worried look and I knew what was coming.

"Speaking of sleep," he began, treading cautiously. He knew he was on thin ice. It didn't matter though; I could never be mad at Donnie. Well, not for very long anyway. "Would you like to talk about...it?"

Oh, god. Yes, Donnie. Yes I do. But if I do it will not be pretty. I'll probably start bawling again. And who knows if I might let slip the fact that I had known the turtles as cartoon characters.

I wanted to trust him, though. So badly.

And really, spilling the beans couldn't be that bad, could it? And besides, Donnie was a good secret keeper. I should be fine. Right?

But then again…

"I'm fine," I lied, with what I _hoped_ was a sincere smile. "Thanks, though."

He still looked worried—and totally unconvinced—but nodded and turned away to make another pot of coffee.

The silence was heavy and very, very awkward. I broke away from the kitchen and wandered around the first floor of the lair, indulging my senses by memorizing the more detailed traits of my surroundings. The cement floor, brick-covered walls and ceiling. The number of ceiling fixtures, VHS tapes on the floor, video games, broken controllers. The smell of Leo, Raph, Mikey, Don and Splinter, the weaker but still prominent smells of Tammy and I, the hint of sewer-smell that was easily ignored.

My mind drifted off as I stared at the vein-like cracks in the ceiling. I was so far off into my own thoughts that it took Splinter's hand on my shoulder to snap me out of it. I shook my head, blinking, and looked down at the old rat.

"There is a very important matter we wish to discuss with you," he said quietly, although there was no one around to hear. I followed him into the dojo, where Tammy and the turtles were all seat criss-cross-applesauce on the floor in circle formation. Uh oh.

Mikey patted the ground next to him, smiling, and I took the seat with a feeling of apprehension. What was going on that called for an all-in meeting?

"As you all know, there is a man, Dr. Elder, who created both Quinn and Thatcher. Through…"

"Gene splicing," Donatello supplied, and his sensei continued without missing a beat.

"…and it has been made clear that he may attempt to kidnap Quinn and Thatcher, or…something similar." A chill ran down my spine. Yup, it was official now. There would be no sleep for me any time soon. "They are part of our lives now, part of our family, and we protect family."

Wow. This was big. I was part of the turtles' "family". This would be squealing, hugging and jumping-up-and-down-worthy news if not for the circumstances. As it was, I felt a rush of adrenaline for an entirely different reason. I was scared out of my mind.

"I have thought long and hard on this matter, and I have decided that Quinn and Tammy could both better protect themselves if they received training."

Okay, now I allowed myself a smile. This truly was the best day ever. Even if it hadn't been so long after the worst day of my life.

Splinter was looking back and forth between Tammy and I. "Would either of you object to the training?"

"No, no," I said quickly, and Tammy voiced similar sentiments.

And then Splinter said Tammy and I could both select whatever weapon we wanted from the dojo's arsenal for our training.

All I could think was _holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit_ I'M GETTING A NINJA WEAPON _holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit_

"Really?" I squeaked, at the same time Tammy asked, "Really?"

I looked at her, grinning ridiculously. Tammy had a similar expression on her face. Like we were kids in a candy store.

Splinter led us to the accumulated weapons, and while Tammy eyed the arsenal briefly before walking over to the staffs and what looked like giant bows, I headed directly for the shorter, more slash-attack weapons, like knives and daggers and a more ninja-ey weapon that looked like Wolverine's claws. Cool. I wondered if they had something like that, but more handheld, not fitting over the hand. I felt like if I wore those, they would slip off. Besides, I already had claws.

Five seconds later, I discovered they did have something similar.

The pair was very simple, like many of the other weapons, basically just two simple metal crescents melded together with a pointed oval-shape in the middle and four prongs sticking out where the crescents overlapped. I picked them up carefully, gripping the sides that were wrapped in what was probably leather, and feeling the weight of them in my hands. They were sturdy, metal, and had sharp tips that could probably slash or stab if necessary.

Oh, man.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

Two fangirls writing one story; who didn't see this coming? XD


	22. Tammy's choice

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter twenty-two; Tammy

* * *

I seriously have reached the point where I love Mikey and his immature ways absolutely to bits. I'm going to be heartbroken when all this gets straightened out and I have to leave… especially if I don't get to kill him first.

But at least he can carry a bigger load than I can so it almost made up for it.

Quinn greeted us when we returned to the lair and she seemed… more than mildly fangirlish over the poster… I was right to pick the one with the lesser amount of clothing. I think she bruised my arms with her gratitude but that was nothing compared to what the bat-happy idiot might have done to me.

While she went screaming around the lair for thumbtacks or sticky tack (I'm beginning to think she's on a coffee high… good thing I only picked up decaf… tell no one.) I took the bags into the kitchen. Mikey dumped his load and vanished.

I quickly hid my mint and chocolate fixes behind several cans of veggies, canned meats and noodles. While I was tossing the bags I'd already emptied Thatch wandered in and was grateful to receive a full water bowl. Rather than start him right off on the dog food I gave him a marrow bone to chew on. I also tracked down a small divided orange bowl and filled one half with water and the other half with kitty kibble. This I left out of reach of the dragon and low enough for Klunk to find.

After stocking the fridge with the necessities and filling the breadbox with wheat I reached for the splurge bag. "You didn't pick up any pizza, did you?"

I almost screeched, spinning around and clutching the bag to my chest. "You guys have got to start wearing bells or something!" I gasped.

Leo grinned. "It wouldn't change a thing." He said. "So… about that pizza, did you pick any up?" He repeated.

"Nada." I replied.

He glanced at the door and made sure nobody was standing there or anything before turning back to me and mouthing, 'thank you'.

I lifted an eyebrow. "Getting sick of pizza?" I asked.

"To death." Leo answered. "French toast and grilled cheese in one day? You girls are life savers."

"Yeah, let's see what you have to say about that when you taste dinner tonight." I warned, tucking the last bag into the cabinet without bothering to unpack it first; they'd be hearing the bad news of my own form of experimentation soon enough.

As we left the kitchen we passed Donnie in a semi-conscious state shuffling into the kitchen with a mug in hand. Two caffeine addicts… I am so dead.

Leo caught my shoulder and I followed his gaze to where Master Splinter was standing near the dojo. Raph and Mikey were standing nearby. Raph looked like his usual self and Mikey looked like he had something important to say and didn't want to get laughed or yelled at for it.

Splinter had a look on his face that made it very clear _I_ was the one he wanted to talk to.

Nervously I hurried over to where he was waiting, then followed him into the dojo. Raph, Mikey and Leo also came in. Leo whispered some quick instructions and I did as I was told, sitting between him and Raph with Mikey on Raph's other side. I had the strangest feeling about the way they were sitting. Not a bad feeling but more like the feeling I got when my dad would start looming behind me or go into school in uniform to talk to a teacher.

Master Splinter moved to stand in front of us. "It has come to my attention that you had a gentleman caller at your apartment last night." I glanced at Mikey before quickly returning my attention to the rat master. "I do not mean to pry Miss Tammy," I cringed slightly –daycare flashbacks were vicious-, "Tammy." He corrected. I smiled gratefully. "I do not mean to pry and your private business remains entirely your own, but do you know who this caller might have been?"

Shaking my head slightly I answered, carefully trying to use the right pronouns. "The only… individuals in New York that know about me are either in this lair, Casey Jones and the people at work." I said. I didn't have to add Dr. Elder, and I'm pretty sure Casey Jones had no idea where I lived.

Once again I was getting that protective vibe off of the turtles as well as their father. "Raphael." Master Splinter's voice was calm, "Kindly fetch Donatello." I swallowed, with the whole mutant family here it was just a matter of time before Quinn was called. As Raph stood and left I shyly lifted one hand, not quite to the level of my chest but high enough to be noticed. For once Master Splinter's serious expression drifted back to that slight smile I was beginning to really enjoy seeing.

With his attention on me I asked, "Could we not tell Quinn about the man at my apartment? I mean… she might not take it well." Master Splinter nodded, as did Leo and Mikey.

Soon Raph returned with Donnie. This time Donnie sat beside me and Raph settled down on Leo's other side. I was in the middle and didn't like it one bit, but it was my apartment and my boss so I guess I'd just have to tough it out. Master Splinter quickly brought Donnie up to speed on the visitor thing and he too agreed that it would be best if Quinn didn't know about this particular wrinkle.

Finally Master Splinter asked. "What do you know of Dr. Elder's experiments?"

I glanced at Donnie, he nodded for me to go first. "Well, as far as I can tell, he takes the DNA and…" I coughed, trying to find a term that wouldn't be too disgusting for sensitive ears… particularly the ones wrapped in orange. "…and collected samples from animals with characteristics he chooses and then artificially applies them to the framework specimen with some kind of chemical slurry to advance the healing process while halting the immune system's ability to reject implants and infusions."

From behind Leo I heard a low snort and something that sounded like 'great, another geek speaker.'

Quickly I tried to translate. "It's like a paper doll. Take the model and put on what you want. Glue everything you want into place and color it so it looks right."

Donnie was nodding, "Somehow this man has succeeded in science far beyond what most geneticists have accomplished. Even Bishop and Saki haven't managed to successfully splice two kinds of genetic samples but somehow Elders has combined no less than four per experiment!"

"Watch it with the 'experiment' bit Don." Raph grumbled. "One of those is a friend." I sighed, but was more than familiar with the objections some people had to the application of scientific or medical terminology to people they knew.

For his part, Master Splinter leaned on his walking stick for a few moments looking pensive. Finally he nodded. "I will return shortly." He announced, then left.

The dojo lapsed into silence for a moment. Naturally it was Mikey who broke the silence. "Dude… paper dolls? Just like that?" I cringed when I recognized the tone. I had tried to use as non-disgusting images as possible to explain my point, but Mikey had apparently thought it through to its more than PG meaning.

When Master Splinter returned Quinn was with him. I felt my skin grow cold, _he didn't decide to tell her, did he?_ I wondered. As Master Splinter returned to his place Mikey invited Quinn over to sit next to him. I really didn't mind, if she was too close she might just see how nervous I was about what Master Splinter had to say.

What he had to say shocked me so much I nearly forgot Quinn was in the room.

"As you all know, there is a man, Dr. Elder, who created both Quinn and Thatcher. Through…"

"Gene splicing," Donnie supplied as easily as if Master Splinter had already set up his line.

"…and it has been made clear that he may attempt to kidnap Quinn and Thatcher, or…something similar." I felt incredibly solemn. I really didn't want to know what a man that brilliant, and that mad, could do. Especially if he found out my little part in all this. "They are part of our lives now, part of our family, and we protect family." I squirmed slightly. Yes, being the only human in the room was suddenly feeling a little awkward. But something about the look he gave me helped me to calm down.

"I have thought long and hard on this matter, and I have decided that Quinn and Tammy could both better protect themselves if they received training."

I gawked. Training? By 'training' did he mean training training? Cause there was no way… just no way life could ever get that cool! No, I miss heard him. By training he must have meant… okay, the only other people in the room were dead silent and my hearing wasn't in question, he said 'training' and 'protect' in the same sentence. Hua to the trillionth power! I was going to get ninja training!

"Would either of you object to the training?" Master Splinter asked, he didn't sound too serious but I wasn't about to let this slip away on a technicality.

"No! No." We tried to get our points across as quickly as possible. The guys were smirking, but I really couldn't have cared less.

_Ninja_ training**!**

Great God in Heaven this was better than… Mint.

(*Note to self, find better reference for something really, really great.)

"Really?" Quinn and I chorused… although she was a good octave or five higher than me. I glanced at her and caught her looking at me. The look on her face was pure glee. This was so entirely awesome!

Master Splinter was now genuinely amused by our excitement. Mikey actually giggled but all of the turtles followed us as Master (sensei!) Splinter led us to the armory, explaining that though we were beginners he believed it would be best if we chose a weapon we could be comfortable with now.

Quinn went right for the cool shiny stuff, I bet she could handle it too.

I looked at the wooden items, thinking carefully despite the adrenaline still pumping through my veins.

Too much reading taught me that the basic and typical beginner's weapon was a staff. I could pick one out that was my size, but in school I'd been taught how to use a bow and arrow, so the previous experience might be valuable.

I stood there for several minutes, even after Quinn had selected hers, trying to make up my mind. Mentally I debated the advantages and disadvantages. Close range against distance, strength, experience, time, and several other factors nagged at me, throwing me from one option to the other. I crossed my arms and absently tried to chew at a nail, only to discover that over the last few days I'd picked them down to the quick.

A soft voice at my side spoke. "You seem to have made your selection." Master Splinter said. I could hear the amusement in his tone but for the life of me I didn't know why.

"Not at all. I don't know whether to choose the staff or the … um…" I was sure there was a Japanese word for bow and arrow but it escaped me at the moment.

"Yumi." Master Splinter provided calmly. The similarity to what Donatello had done for him earlier made me smile. He nodded. "Yes, I believe the jo and a hankyu will do nicely." I stared at him. Was he saying…? "If you prefer you may work up to a daikyu but for the moment a short bow would suit you best."

I blinked.

I swallowed.

"Are you serious?"

"Quite." Master Splinter said. And with that he calmly began telling me the story of the jo and helping me to pick one the right size.


	23. Quinn's lesson

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter twenty-three; Quinn

* * *

"Those are tekko," a voice announced, making me jump, and I turned to find Leo standing there.

"You're too quiet," I muttered. He smiled. "And these are…tekko?"

He nodded. "The ones you're holding are one of the two variations. Those are 'horseshoe' tekko, because they were originally made from horseshoes."

I looked down at the weapons in my hands. They didn't look all that much like horseshoes to me, but I could see how they might have originated that way.

"Cool." Leo smiled again. "So, uh…when do we start?"

"Whenever you want," he said, shrugging.

I looked over his shoulder at Tammy and Splinter. It looked like they were comparing different bows to find one that was the right size. Splinter also seemed to be telling Tammy something, and I guessed it was the same back story type-thing Leo had just given me. Only Splinter's was a lot longer.

I refocused on Leo and shrugged. "I'm ready whenever." Hmm. Come on, keep Leo's attention, Quinn. Make conversation! "So, why did people start making tekko, anyway?" I asked, taking a stab at what I hoped would be a good enough prompt for Leo to take off from.

It was.

He launched into a full-scale history lecture. "Well, when weaponry was banned in Okinawa in the…" I started to feel the coffee wear off. Oh, no.

I glued my attention to Leo and paid attention to his history lesson as if it was the most riveting thing on earth. I was absolutely NOT feeling sleepy. Nope. Not at all.

"Hey, fearless leader, I think you're puttin' her to sleep." Raph. My hero.

Leo somehow managed to look both embarrassed and indignant at the same time. I felt sorry for him. I mean, I _had_ asked him to tell me. I just hadn't planned on the caffeine wearing off.

"Nice pick," Raph added, nodding towards my choice of weaponry.

I smiled. "Thanks."

The next thing I knew, Tammy and Splinter had joined our little party, and Mikey and Donnie had somehow joined the group as well.

"I see you have chosen the tekko," Splinter noted.

"Yup," I said, wide awake now that I was surrounded by moving bodies. Stupid cat vision. Mikey's fidgeting was _really_ distracting. Ugh. Just look away, Quinn. Focus on something else. Like Tammy's new bow. It was a pretty majestic-looking thing, managing to look finessed and hardy at the same time. Thus doubling the awesome factor.

I was about to comment on their awesomeness when Splinter took the floor. "Are you both certain that these are the weapons you wish to train with?" We nodded. "Very well. You may begin your training immediately, if you wish."

Tammy and I exchanged a look, confirming what I had hoped. We were both ready and raring to go.

"Now would be great," I said, voicing our thoughts and hoping I didn't sound too eager. Though that was pretty much a lost cause at this point.

Splinter looked amused. "In that case, we shall begin."

He gestured to Donnie and Raph, who went to partner up with Tammy and I, respectively. Oh, boy. I was going to be taught by _Raph?_ This would be good.

In the meantime, Mikey and Leo somehow managed to set up a makeshift firing range for Tammy on the other side of the dojo. Tammy was led off to that side, and I followed Raph an area closer to the entrance. I noticed they were keeping us as far away from the weapons on the walls as possible. I really couldn't blame them. Considering me, I would probably knock half of them down and break the other half.

The first thing Raph did was tell me to get into a fighting stance. I widened my stance, bent my knees, and stopped there because I really had no idea what the hell I was doing. I mean, learning the ancient art of tekko-weilding? Yeah, not something you do every day.

Raph had a frustrated expression on that made me feel like the dumbest person in the world. I peeked over my shoulder and saw Don giving Tammy much better instruction. Argh.

"Okay, just…" He sighed, looking mad. Had I done something wrong _already_?

"Hand 'em over." I stared at him for a second, uncomprehending. And then realized he meant I was supposed to give him the tekko. I passed them to him immediately. He then put them on the floor nearby.

Okay, what the hell? Wasn't I supposed to be training with those?

"We're gonna start with stretches," he explained. Well, okay. Stretches I could do.

The stretches were, as predicted, a breeze, so Raph decided to try again with the whole 'stance' thing. This time, he showed me beforehand. My second try was much better than the first, probably due to the fact that I had a model to work from this time.

Splinter walked over then, only to examine my posture and tell me what I already knew: that there were still a few corrections to be made, such as _this_ and _this_ and _this_. Splinter then reminded kindly reprimanded Raphael, telling him that I was not one of his brothers and, basically, could not be expected to know anything. He was much less blunt, but… _Ouch_.

Raph bowed to his sensei—my sensei now, too—and waited until Splinter had gone to help Tammy and Don to mumble an apology. I shrugged. No big deal. Raph wasn't that good at these things in the first place.

Leo then approached to ask if he should take over.

And that was it. Raph was suddenly the sensei from hell, practically snarling at Leo that he was okay before having me try out a slashing motion. It turned out to be much harder than it looked, due to the weight of the iron tekko, which carried my arm further than I'd intended. Raph took this in stride and told me that when using a slash motion in an actual attack, I should use the momentum of the movement to follow up with a second slash by turning my fist. I tried it. It worked.

From then on, Raph continued showing me the basics, like stabbing, jabbing, and some of the easier sword-blocks. I noticed he seemed extra-intent on teaching me to blow and disarm sword users. I had no doubt that this stemmed from certain…sibling rivalries.

By the end of a very long first training session, my arms were aching, my fingers were sore, and I felt like crap. I had also come to the revelation that Raph and I had been paired up because of the similarity of our weapons; the basic movements were similar, even if mine had to be delivered from different angles in order to be effective, and they were both very handy when up against sword fighters.

But the day wasn't over yet. I was given a sort of makeshift holder for my new weapons, and told to keep them with me at all times. Let me tell you, it felt really weird to have a belt around your waist carrying two heavy, awkwardly-shaped metal objects in leather pouches. I didn't like the extra weight. I felt…well, weighed down, for lack of a better phrase. Tammy's situation was different; she was given a shoulder-strap type thing with a quiver mounted on the back for her bow and arrows, but since it would get in the way if she tried to sit down, she was allowed to take it off if she had to.

Me? Not so much.

After getting set up with our weapon holsters, it was apparently time for dinner. Mikey went to order pizza, but Tammy blocked his path.

"No junk food. I'm cooking."

Mikey pouted, whined, even used the dreaded puppy-eyes, but none of them seemed to phase her. I grinned at his frustration and settled back onto the couch. I pulled out one of my tekko, tracing its shape with my finger and fiddling with it.

It wasn't long before Mikey plopped down next to me, arms crossed and muttering something about how Tammy just didn't appreciate the wonder of pizza. I almost laughed.

"So, Mikey, why'd you choose the nunchucks?" I asked, trying to take his mind off pizza.

It worked. "Well, they're all spinney, you know? And you can switch grips, and they're easy to hold and you can hit stuff with them," he said, talking fast. His whole face was brighter. "I really like them."

This time I did laugh. Mikey was such a kid. If he were human, I had no doubt he would be a skater dude. My mind wandered off to the other turtles. Don would be a famous scientist or engineer, there was no doubt about that. Leo would probably be a teacher, or own a dojo of his own. And Raph would no doubt either be a policeman or a vigilante. Maybe even both. And he would no doubt have women falling all over him because of his bad-boy attitude. I giggled at the thought of Raph covered in lipstick kiss marks. It seemed like something I'd see on deviantART.

Mikey'd hand waved a GameCube controller in front of my face, bringing me out of my trance.

"Oh. Sorry. What?"

"I _said_, wanna play MarioCart?"

"Uh, sure?" Mikey grinned his thanks and handed me the controller. While he booted up the game, I took the opportunity to look over my shoulder and see what Tammy was making. I watched her for a few moments before coming to the conclusion that I had no idea what we were going to have for dinner tonight. Oh, well.

I turned back the TV just in time to choose my player. I picked Toad, because…well, just because. Mikey chose Mario, of course. The announcer counted down, and we were off.

After a while, Donnie joined us as Luigi, and Mikey coaxed Raph into playing Bowser. There were only four controllers, and Leo didn't want to play anyway, so he just watched from the sidelines on the recliner. Thatcher turned up to watch the game from under the coffee table, since there was no room left on the couch.

Raph and I were both so bad that eventually the two of us just focused on beating each other for third place, talking trash and trying to push each other off the track and everything. It even got physical outside the game, since we both had the tendency to lean from one side to the other as our players did, as if this would help us in the game. Raph and I were sitting next to each other, so we were constantly pushing against one another.

Mikey eventually "took pity on us" and left to help Tammy with dinner. Thatcher followed him; the loud noise had been upsetting him for a while now. We forced Leo into filling in for Mikey, and from then on it was Raph vs. Leo vs. me for second place. Since Leo was even worse than me at playing video games, and Raph was having the time of his life lording it over him. The smell of dinner cooking made us hungrier, which just made us play harder. Even Leo and Donnie started to really get into it, yelling playful insults back and forth with Raph and I.

And then it hit me. With the turtles and I arguing over a video game, shoving each other on the couch, and Mikey and Tammy cooking dinner filling the lair, it felt like a family.

When Donnie asked me if I was crying, I told him I was overwhelmed with the feeling of victory from finally getting second place.


	24. Tammy tries

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter twenty-four; Tammy

* * *

"Alright, normally I'd start you off on the dead basics, bowing and all that, but considering the circumstances we'll get right into defensive techniques." Donnie explained. His eyes flicked to the side and I could see he was struggling to hide a smile. "Although senpai Leonardo would probably agree to teach you that stuff if you asked nicely enough."

I too glanced to the side where it was obvious Leo was trying to not look miffed that he wasn't teaching somebody. I made a note to talk to him this evening but for now he and Mikey were busy setting up an indoor firing range. I noted some of the targets looked a little odd for archery and there seemed to be a lot but I tried to quell my curiosity as Donnie started on the lesson.

"Alright, first thing first; what?" Ooh, good instruction method, usually I hated this one but I have to admit it's effective.

"Stretching and warm-ups?" I guessed.

He smiled and nodded. "We'll start with the upper body since that's what you'll be working with most considering your weapons of choice. What do you know about stretching the biceps?" We went from there. For the most part it was simple, except when he forgot that I'm a science person and not a bilingual genius, but he was usually pretty good at catching himself when he slipped into Japanese.

We moved from stretches into a basic stance. For a few minutes he had me stand in that stance and control my breathing to allow muscle memory to begin setting in before he started running me through the different blocks that I could use from that stance. Once I'd learned the blocks he ran me through a couple of drills. He was moving so incredibly slow compared to how I'd seen him training earlier it was almost embarrassing, but he didn't seem to think I was progressing too slowly.

He did the same routine with some kicks and punches and after drilling me on those he grinned. "Good, now let's try it with the staff." He suggested. Much to my surprise, many of the movements were the same and having practiced them without the staff first I was able to block some of Donnie's strikes with the practice staffs, it was almost easy… save for the sensation that my hand was about to break when his staff hit mine.

Master Splinter came over and watched us for several minutes. After a while he called a stop and asked me to remove my hands from my weapon. I did as I was told and almost flushed as dark as my palms when I saw how red and raw they were. Once the circulation returned I was sure they would fluff out a bit with mild swelling.

Donatello immediately looked contrite and even before he began to apologize I was considering hitting him with my stick- er- _staff_. "Tammy, I'm so sorry, I should have pulled my attacks more. Really I-"

"Donatello." Master Splinter silenced his son. "She accepted the training of a ninja did she not?" Yeah, what he said.

"Yes sensei …" He wanted to say something, it was clear, but he didn't want to contradict his teacher and father.

With a nod Master Splinter accepted his reply. He also cast a glance at where I was trying to be subtle about holding my palms out of sight before suggesting, " Perhaps now would be a good time to introduce Tammy to the Yumi."

"Of course Master." Donatello gave a humble bow that I kind of wanted to copy, but was sure I'd botch it. Once Master Splinter had left Donnie turned to me. "Tammy, really, I had no idea that I was-"

_tock_. He blinked. I smirked, returning my staff to my side after having tapped him on the skull. "Don't let your guard down." I teased. "And if one more person tries to pamper me like that I'm going to steal some drugs from the good mad doctor, sedate that person and beat them black and blue." I smiled, he hesitantly returned it. "In my book, tough hands are a good thing so don't worry about it." Yes, my hands hurt and were beginning to throb, but I found that in a way I actually enjoyed the sensation. It let me know that for once I was putting some real effort into something.

After that Donnie didn't seem to hesitate in his continued instruction… his not having to hit me might have had something to do with it. For the most part I spent the last of my first training session doing arm exercises, trying to build up to where I could draw the large bow without too much difficulty. There were a lot of exercises and I was slightly upset to realize this meant a kind of homework, but overall it was enjoyable. Despite Donnie's lectures about how it would be months before I could regularly practice with the yumi and even longer before I could wield it in a combat situation I found that I was enjoying myself.

Finally, Donnie actually let me shoot. It was just one arrow to get the feel of it, and my arms shook trying to draw the string back to my ear. When I released the arrow and listened to it cut through the air and the string play a single, sweet note, I felt that this was good. Both the jo and the yumi felt alien, yet good in my hands. I held nothing but anticipation for future training sessions.

I even hit a target! Not the one I was aiming at… nor one of the ones next to it, but I hit a target!

After retrieving the arrow Donnie and Raph sized Quinn and me for a couple of holsters. I fell in love with the holster almost as badly as I had with the weapons. The leather was comfortable and yet, tough enough to take a hit. Mine slid comfortably over the shoulder and Don helped me to mount my jo in the back, then showed me the alterations that had been made to it so I could attach a small quiver when the time came. Either way; it would be difficult to sit with it on, Donnie even showed me how to slip in and out of the harness easily to overcome this problem.

After looking it over, and glancing at the strange conformity for Quinn's spiky thingies I realized that these had not been sitting around. Somebody had cut them down and specialized them since we'd started our session and I couldn't help but cast a look in Master Splinter's direction. He stood quietly near his quarters, neither confirming nor denying my silent accusation.

Just as we were released I saw Mikey making a bee-line for the phone and I quickly went to cut him off.

"But…" he whimpered. "The pizza… dudette, it's been almost an entire day!" I crossed my arms, hiding my pleasure at the strength that seemed to come with the harness. I could barely use the thing but the extra leather was somewhat empowering. "Come on, I'll let you pick the crust." No deal Mikey, I'm making dinner and I'm going to stand here practicing my authority face until you bend. "The toppings? You can even use that nasty green stuff." It's called spinach and it is _not_ nasty. "Oh come on, please?" He pouted and I was forced to realize that his eyes were a peculiar shade of pure blue, but I'd dealt with blue eyes, brown eyes, and even miss-matched eyes before. Whimpering he added a sweet, miserably, pleading, "Have a heart."

I smirked at that. "Heart is actually healthy, I could probably pick some up and add it to dinner if you really like." I had no intention of making good on that threat, but it worked. The sweet, miserable expression dissolved into disgust and I had the kitchen as my own.

First things first; toss the leftover cake.

Then I could get to work on the best stir-fry recipe my college had ever seen! Admittedly no one else _made_ stir-fry, but at least the only people who hated it were the welding students.

And if the stir-fry was a flop, I had a store-bought Chocolate Manifest Destiny cake in the fridge as a peace offering.

Don't judge me. There's a difference between a major sweet tooth and a greasy heart attack… and if I didn't have some kind of major chocolate in my shopping cart seeing the final price on today's shopping trip would have given me that heart attack.

*Note to self; get paid _soon_.*


	25. Quinn teaches Leo

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter twenty-five; Quinn

* * *

When Tammy called us for dinner, there was a mad dash for the table. We were all still so hyped up from the video game and hungry from lack of food that the way to the table was a race, too, and we all violently pushed and shoved each other on the way there. I found I was at an extreme disadvantage, being surrounded by very well-muscled ninjas with rock-hard shells, but I managed to get to the table mostly unharmed, though I knew the bruises I'd acquired would be visible soon. Most of the soreness could be attributed to the training session, and my rivalry with Raph when it came to video games.

As it turned out, we were having stir fry, a dish that ironically enough reminded me of my mom, who'd loved the stuff and had occasionally made it herself. The bowls full of stir fry were passed around the table along with forks, and when I went to dig into the dish I was eternally embarrassed to see my hand shaking as it held the fork. Stupid muscles, getting strained. Still, I'd go through shaky hands a thousand times if it meant more training. The tekko may have been heavy (and felt even heavier after an hour or so of use), but they felt good in my hands.

My hand refused to stop shaking no matter how hard I tried to make it stop, but thankfully the guys were too preoccupied with eating to notice. Or at least I hoped they were. I decided to just ignore the shaking and hope everyone else would do the same.

The stir fry was really good, and I voiced my opinion in between bites with an extremely articulate, "Really good, Tammy," which thankfully seemed to be received well by the chef. Splinter and Leo also complimented Tammy on the meal, after which the turtles rushed to follow suit. I almost laughed, but then it turned into a choked cough. I took a huge gulp of water and crisis was averted.

The rest of the meal was pleasant, and the guys slowed their eating pace aft a few minutes of wolfing the stir fry down. Tammy was prepared for their appetites this time, and they each had seconds, then thirds. I finished my own second helping and sat back to relax the rest of the meal.

"So, Miss—" Splinter caught himself and started again. "Tammy and Quinn, what did you think of your first lesson?"

I felt Raph and Leo's eyes burning into the back of my head. I glanced over at Tammy, who was chewing thoughtfully on a mouthful of stir fry. I'd go first, then.

"It was amazing. I mean…I'm really sore, but I like learning to fight. It was hard, but…yeah. I liked it." That was apparently where my articulate-ness ended. I glanced over my shoulder to see Raph giving Leo a smug grin.

Tammy swallowed and spoke up. "It was great, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun and learned so much at the same time." Donatello was practically beaming afterwards.

Splinter smiled at Tammy and me. "I am glad. My sons have been pupils for so long, it is good for them to be able to teach others what they have learned."

"Hey, sensei! Can I teach them next time?" Mikey asked, looking a lot like an overeager puppy…er, turtle.

"I'd also like to teach Tammy or Quinn," Leo offered, earning a glare from Raphael.

"We shall see," Splinter said calmly, and that was the end of it.

Tammy took advantage of the moment to get dessert, which turned out to be a decadent chocolate cake. Dear lord. That girl is my hero.

I think she must've noticed my worshipful expression, because she gave me one of the bigger slices. I snuck a look at Splinter, and he looked just as grateful for the cake as I was. Mikey looked like he'd forgotten all about the lack of pizza.

The cake was pure bliss. I completely forgot about my aches and pains and just focused on the delicious taste of chocolate. You know what they say about chocolate making you feel happy? This was definite proof.

"Thank you so much, Tammy." I think Splinter would've thanked her, too, but he seemed lost in the cake.

"You're welcome." She seemed to be quite enjoying the cake herself. The guys seemed amused by our reaction to the cake's deliciousity (is that a word? It should be). Whatever. I had my cake. I was happy.

Dessert was over all too soon. I volunteered for clean-up duty (hey, if Tammy cooks, I figure that as the other guest I have the responsibility to clean), and Leo, being the gentleman he is, offered to help. I tried to tell him that I was fine by myself, but he insisted.

Thus Leo and I found ourselves teaming up to do dishes; he washed, I dried, and ultimately I was glad for his help. It meant the work would get done that much faster. Also, I had forgotten about my still-slightly-shaky hands, which would no doubt have worsened if I'd had to do all the washing and drying myself. As it was, I used the countertop to steady the plate and keep most of the weight off my hands.

"Your hands are shaking," Leo pointed out. Crap. He'd noticed.

"Yup." No point in denying it. Hopefully I could just downplay it and everything would be cool.

"You know, if Raph's training was too hard—"

"_I'm fine_." Bad word choice, Leo. If you suggest I can't rise to the challenge, I'll go out of my way to kick its ass. Raph's lessons aren't hard; they're the easiest thing in the world. Or so I will tell you if you ever ask.

"Sorry, I'm just concerned."

"Well, thanks, but like I said, I'm fine. No concern necessary." I dried the last of the dishes and started putting them away, with Leo's help.

"Thanks for the French toast, by the way."

"No problem. It's the least I can do, after dragging you guys into all this craziness. I feel really bad for Tammy, too. I mean, it's…" Uh oh. Simple dishwashing had turned into a confessional. Stop, mouth. Cease thy blathering.

"It's nothing we can't handle," Leo said.

Of course not. "You seem awfully confident about that."

"Trust me when I say, we've dealt with much worse."

Oh, I know. "Really?"

Leo nodded. Keep the conversation going, Quinn. It'll turn into an awkward silence if you don't. And remember to _watch what you say_.

"Like those ninja from before?" I asked, barely keeping myself from calling them the Foot.

"Yeah, the Foot are always a problem for us." He seemed slightly relieved that I wasn't going to pry any further. I didn't need to.

Let's see, what else was there to talk about? Oh, right, meditation! Now was as good a time as any for that, I guess.

"Hey, Leo, I, uh…meditated with Splinter earlier. He said maybe we should meditate together sometime…?" Ugh. Way to use awkward wording, Quinn.

"Sure." Trust Leo to do whatever had Splinter's backing. "Now?"

"Sure." We put away the stir fry leftovers (that there were actually any leftovers at all was a miracle in and of itself), and I followed him to the dojo. He sat down and motioned for me to sit across from him.

"By the way, Splinter wanted us to try each other's meditation method."

Leo looked skeptical, but curious. Apparently it _was_ possible to express both at the same time. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when Splinter and I meditated…Uh…" How to put this? "My mind is pretty nuts, so I couldn't really clear it and be emotionless and Zen. So I, um, did something else?" It came out as a question. Great.

"What did you do?"

"I went to my happy place." The look on Leo's face was priceless, but I was too embarrassed to appreciate it at the time.

"And Splinter wants me to try this?"

"Yes."

"…Okay."

"Okay." Right. Now I had to get Leo to 'find his happy place'. "So, um, do you have a happy place?"

Hey, it was a start! The question was really important. If he didn't, I'd have to get him to _make_ one. From scratch.

"…No." His face suggested that he was holding in laughter. Thanks, Leo. Good to know you're enjoying yourself.

"Then you're going to have to make one." He gave me a look that clearly asked, _Are you serious?_ "Yes, Leo. We're going to build your happy place."

Again, priceless expression. One that I could actually enjoy now that I wasn't feeling like a total idiot. I was in my own, and Leo would just have to deal with it. No matter how utterly ridiculous the situation was.

"Close your eyes." He gave me that look again and I countered it with my own. _Yeah, really_. Once his eyes were shut, I continued with the process. "I want you to picture the most peaceful, happy place you can think of. A forest, or the beach, or the top of a skyscraper, or on top of a cloud… Anywhere." The middle of his mask furrowed, like he was deep in concentration, but then he nodded. Time for step two.

"Now pick something or someone to surround yourself with. Flowers, characters from movies you really like, trees, statues." It was longer this time before he nodded.

"Next is sound. A song you really like, or just the sounds of birds chirping, or the wind." Again, he nodded.

"Last, bring it to life. Put yourself in the midst of it. Relax. If you have people there, talk to them. Pick some flowers, or watch the clouds, or climb a tree." It was a really long wait this time, but finally I got the nod of success.

"And that's it."

He opened his eyes, looking amazed. "That's…really weird."

I grinned. "Thanks. It's also loads of fun once you get the hang of it. You can change it however you want, too, to fit your mood or whatever. It gets easier with practice."

He just nodded again. I realized I had rendered Leo speechless. A priceless, once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Not only that, but Leo could now say that he had a happy place. And that he'd actually been there. I savored the moment.

"Do you mind if I…?" he still seemed a little shocked.

Now I really had to grin. "Sure." He closed his eyes and I could actually physically see him relax. The muscles in his face smoothed, and he…smiled?

Woah. I stared at this for a moment before catching myself and getting into a comfortable position. Once settled, I was off to my own happy place. After a moment's consideration, I chose to cloud watch while lying in a flowery meadow. It was so peaceful, so relaxing.

So relaxing that I unintentionally screwed myself over and fell asleep.

* * *

Finally! Review please! Remind Quinn to sleep.


	26. Tammy's exhausted

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter twenty-six; Tammy

* * *

Donatello's purple mask loomed in front of me. "_Ready?_" He asked.

"uh-huh." I muttered, cringing when I remembered that probably wasn't the best response, even if he was more casual that the instructors in the movies.

"_Good, now tell me how many fingers I'm holdin' up._"

"Hahn?" I asked, completely confused.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Something poked my nose and I jerked awake. At my feet Thatcher made a slight confused noise and looked up from his bone. In front of me were Raphael and Michelangelo, both smirking and looking smug.

"Did I…? Oh crap." I _never_ fall asleep by accident, never! It usually takes a lot of effort if you can believe it and here I was sleeping on the cleared dinner table. It would probably be best if I waited till tomorrow to ask Leo about those extra lessons…

Mikey, the owner of the nose-poking finger, tilted his head and grinned in a way that made me wonder if he hadn't been about to draw on my face or something. "Dream of a certain handsome ninja turtle?" He asked suggestively and teasingly, wiggling his eye ridges like some kind of Marx comedian.

I could feel the heat rushing to my face. It wasn't fair, I knew perfectly well that it was just a memory impression from my day, but I _had_ sort of dreamed of a turtle and I had no control over capillary dilation in my face. "She's blushing!" Mikey crowed. Raph snickered and I pushed my chair away from the table and stood up. Then, with all the dignity and poise I could muster I marched to the bathroom and shut them out.

While trying to wait them out I glanced in the mirror and flinched. One cheek was bright red and shiny from resting against my hand and the rest was just painfully red to look at until my face could cool down. On one cheek I sported a long, thin scab and a butterfly bandage on my jaw brought attention to the still healing cut there. I looked like a mess and the loose skin under my eyes wasn't helping the impression.

But strangely, under the very red skin was a smile. Things were wacked out and totally crazy, but I was having _fun_. The world is insane and apparently; so am I.

Once I'd killed enough time in the bathroom I slowly stepped out. Looking around I saw neither Raph nor Mikey. In fact, the only turtle I did see was Donnie, who seemed to be erecting some kind of gate at the entrance to his lab. I think an explanation for this might be provided by the way Thatch was now sitting next to the bathroom door looking to me for some sympathy. I frowned at him. "Don't look at me like that. I'm the wicked old witch that has to start training you." I told him. He expressed his terror by pressing a paw against my leg, begging for scratches.

The wicked old witch gave in. After giving his head and neck a good scratch I started across the lair, passing the dojo where I could hear Leo and Quinn talking about something; maybe _she_ wasn't too tired to ask for extra lessons. I however; should have napped longer this morning.

Once in the monitoring area I shifted through some of the cassettes on the floor until I found one labeled 'ST;TNG' and popped it into the cassette.

Unfortunately I didn't make it to the end of the episode before I was brought back to wakefulness by Thatcher trying to crawl over me and sniff at something. I followed his path of interest and found Michelangelo grinning sheepishly with camera in hand.

"Mikey." Said I.

"Yeah?" He asked innocently.

"DIE!" I jumped over the arm of the couch, but naturally the turtle was faster. I gave chase as fast as I could and behind me I could hear Thatcher also joining in.

"Mad human! Mad human!" Mikey called, his voice filled with false terror and real amusement. I'm trying to kill him and he's having a blast, dang him.

He ran into the kitchen where I thought I'd have him cornered but he easily hopped around like some giant cat with a shell and next thing I know he's going _over_ my head and heading right back out of the kitchen.

The guy was fast, but I wasn't a slowpoke myself when I put my mind to it. I was close enough to see the whites of his eyes when he giggled and turned to see how far behind him I was, with a squeak he faced forward again and put on an extra burst of speed. By now my lungs were beginning to hint that they would start hurting soon. I was on the verge of being forced to slow down by my own unfitness when Mikey came to a stop so suddenly I literally crashed into him, knocking both of us to the floor and giving Thatcher enough time to jump on us yapping a doggy lecture.

While Thatch's lecture probably consisted of not stopping, I had little doubt that Leo's would have something to do with not starting.

I was right. After very sternly chastising us for causing a 'ruckus' this late, Leo had Mikey quickly instruct me on the position of attention to be used in the dojo while he carried Quinn up to bed. When Leo returned he had me stand at attention while he made Mikey recite something long and by the sound of it; boring, in Japanese. Unfortunately he didn't have the thing memorized very well so it took a while. Once Mikey had finished Leo revised his speech on the evils of impromptu bouts of noise and released us while he returned to the dojo.

Mikey darted off to the monitoring area to play some video games while I took Thatcher outside the main entrance and down one of the little side tunnels that I doubted the turtles used much. After Thatch had done his thing I took him back to the lair with the intention of crashing on the dinner table if need be, I was going to get some sleep.

Fortunately I discovered what Raph had been up to. He walked past me and grunted that I should follow him. Being fluent in reclusive grump, I did as I was told and he led me to another room that had been partially cleared and a cot set up with blankets and a pillow.

"Yeah, you can crash there." He said.

I managed a grin. "Thanks Raph, I owe you one."

"Forget about it." Raph brushed my thanks off and I had to grin, that accent of his was so cool.

After he'd left and I'd retrieve my things I tried the cot and nearly melted with content; I love a good army cot.

Slowly my eyes drifted shut until a sudden weight fell on my gut like a CPR thrust. I grunted and glanced down at Thatcher. The dragon seemed more than pleased with himself as he turned around and settled down with me as his literal body pillow. "I'm getting you a collar." I told him. "With a bell, just like a cat collar." Naturally he didn't reply.

Sighing, I lay back again and started to drift. My thoughts were like little fireflies dancing behind my eyes until one of them came to the forefront and announce it would be keeping me up for a while.

I opened my eyes and stared through the darkness at the ceiling. Somewhere in the lair I could hear Mikey's game playing and Thatcher gave a doggy sigh but other than that all was still as I focused on my single pressing thought. "How the heck does one member of a five member family pick up such a strong accent?"


	27. Quinn's got troubles

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter twenty-seven; Quinn

* * *

"We're surrounded!" Leo called above the sounds of battle. A Foot ninja took a swipe at me, but I dodged artfully and slashed my tekko across his chest, letting its weight swing me full circle in a move that could only be described as amazing, taking out all the Foot in my immediate vicinity.

"Yeah, and since when has that been a problem, Fearless Leader?" Typical Raph, managing to bicker with Leo even in the heat of battle.

Speaking of which, the Purple Dragons were starting to arrive on the scene. The first line fell to a slew of arrows. I looked up and saw Tammy on a ledge above us, firing her arrows from her giant bow and playing the role of sniper like she had been born to do it.

The battle was starting to turn in our favor, outnumbered though we were, when suddenly everyone vanished. The Foot, Dragons, even the turtles and Tammy. All gone. I was completely alone in the giant cave. Only now it was a laboratory, completely white and endless, a maze of test tube-covered tables.

A mad laugh echoed from behind me, and when I turned towards the source I saw Leo, suspended in chains from the ceiling and being lowered towards a giant vial of bubbling red fluid. He looked broken, physically and mentally. His body was covered in cuts and lacerations, all resolve and confidence gone, limp and helpless as he was lowered to his doom. Another laugh, and again I turned.

This time it was Raphael, fighting a hopeless battle against a giant green mass with a tooth-filled mouth and hundreds of hungry eyes. Each time the blob touched him, he was burnt, crying out in pain. He tried to fight back, but every time he cut part of it off, the severed part grew into a lab-experiment-gone-wrong, twisted and hideous and ever-advancing towards Raph, who was starting to falter.

There was a tortured scream on my right and I swung around in time to see Mikey getting strapped to an operating table. Arms and hands reached out from the darkness around him with knives and needles. Mikey screamed as the tools cut into him again and again. I tried to run to him, but he kept getting farther and farther away, until I tripped and went crashing into the floor. When I got to my feet, everything was dark.

"You can't save them, Alice. You can't save any of them." Phantom images of the horrific scenes flashed all around me.

"STOP IT!" I screamed, but the voice only laughed.

"Why, Alice? I love you. You are my darling daughter. They would only keep you from me. Come here, come home."

Dr. Elder materialized from the shadows, arms wide and smiling fanatically.

"I love you, Alice. Why don't you understand?"

I couldn't move, rooted to the spot even as he advanced.

And then suddenly he was gone, replaced by Donnie. I got to my feet and ran to him. But Donnie just stood there, looking sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked, taking his hands.

"Why couldn't you save up, Quinn?" His voice came out weak, his sad eyes boring into me. "Why didn't you help us?" The left side of his face started melting away, and the rest of him followed, like a painting that had been splashed with water. He was still talking, even though his mouth was horribly disfigured.

"We needed your help, Quinn. Why won't you help us?" I backed away as he stumbled forward, parts of him dripping off onto the ground. "We need your help. Help us, Quinn."

Dr. Elder's laugh echoed all around me, and suddenly all the turtles were around me, melting away as they advanced on me, calling for help. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Dr. Elder, smiling and holding his arms out for me.

"I love you, Alice," he said sweetly, repeating the phrase over and over as the turtles' pleas for help continued in the background. I couldn't breath. I sank to the floor, kneeling, and they were all getting closer, closer…

I screamed, continuing for a few seconds before running out of air completely.

When I tried to breathe in again, I found that my head was buried in a pillow. I opened my eyes and didn't recognize my surroundings until I remembered that I was in the turtles' lair. I hoped desperately that I was awake.

My overactive imagination tried to project Dr. Elder into my bedroom, but I did my best to ground it. Still, I was shaking as I stood from the bed and reached for my tekko belt, which had been removed from my waist and put on the nightstand. After a few fumbled tries, I managed to buckle it on.

I was still scared out of my mind from the nightmare. Was I awake? Were the turtles okay?

I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. The lair was dark, signaling that everyone was asleep. There was only one person I could count on to be awake at this hour.

I made my way down the stairs slowly, arms folded and hands clutching desperately around said arms. I looked all around the room and made sure I wasn't seeing things that weren't supposed to be there. Was Elder supposed to be waiting for me on the couch? No, he was not. Stop it, brain.

I managed to get the door of the lab—ugh, I need to find something else to call it—open and experienced a shock of panic when I saw Donnie's motionless legs poking out from underneath the Battle Shell.

"Donnie?" I called, and my voice sounded pathetically small and childish. When he didn't answer, I walked over to him. "Don?"

I jumped ten feet in the air when he suddenly rolled out from underneath the Shell.

"What's up?" he asked, then caught sight of my face. He sat up on what little rationality there was left in my brain told me was a skateboard, and rephrased the question. "What's wrong?"

I approached slowly. What if I was still asleep? What it the nightmare was going to start all over again?

I knelt down in front of him and took his hand in mine, reaching up with my other hand to confirm that his face was still firmly in place and wasn't going to be melting off any time soon. His expression changed from shocked to sympathetic when he realized I was shaking like a leaf.

Once I was sure that this wasn't a nightmare, I all but collapsed against Don and started bawling again. Good lord, I usually never cry, and now I was bawling my eyes out every time I fell asleep!

Don froze up for only a moment before his arms wrapped around me, rubbing comforting circles on my back as he whispered in my ear that everything was alright. Which was _exactly_ what I needed to hear.

Have I mentioned how much I love that turtle?

"Nightmare?" he asked, once I'd stopped crying. I nodded. "Was it…about Dr. Elder?"

I almost felt like bursting into tears again, but Donnie's plastron and shoulder were already all wet.

"Yeah," I choked out, voice hoarse from sobbing. Ugh. Why couldn't I show Donnie a better side of me? One that _wasn't_ always crying and suffering from mental trauma?

"Want to talk about it?"

I pulled back and looked Donnie straight in the eye. If I spilled my guts to him about the nightmare, I'd probably blab too much and end up telling him about where I actually came from, too.

It was a risk I was willing to take. I needed someone to talk to. Badly.

"None of this leaves this room," I said firmly, though the threat was dampened by my hoarse voice. Donnie looked dubious. "_Promise_. Or I can't tell you."

It sounded childish as all get-out, but hey, it worked. Don nodded and I took hold of my anxiously swishing tail, holding it with my arms. It would substitute for a pillow during the confession.

And then I told him all about my nightmare. About all the things I'd seen, or rather, dreamt, and how Dr. Elder carried over into the real world sometimes, courtesy of my lovely mind. Somehow, I kept myself from saying anything about the fact that I actually came from a world where the turtles were cartoon/movie/comic characters.

For his part, Donnie looked horrified by what I told him, a look which dissolved almost completely into sympathy by the time I was done.

"That's awful." Normally I would make a snarky comment, like "Yeah, ya think?" but instead I just nodded. Sarcasm would probably not be received very well at this point, though it was my usual fallback when I was having a hard time with something. In this case, staying sane.

"I…You're suffering from psychological trauma after what happened to you." I know, Don.

He sighed, giving me a weak smile. "Could you hand me that mug up there?" He gestured to the worktable next to my head. I picked up and gave him what my nose told me was coffee. I could really use some of that myself right now.

"Can I have some?" My voice was almost back to normal. He looked surprised, then smiled sheepishly, tilting the cup towards me so I could see that it was empty.

"Sorry. There's more upstairs, though."

More coffee? I was on my way.

Before I could make for the stairs, the masked turtle's hand fell on my shoulder, stopping me. I looked over my shoulder to see Don staring at me with a look of horror.

"What did you do to your _arms_?"

I twisted my arm around so I could see what he had been looking at. My answer was five red welts on each arm just above the elbow, bleeding slightly and surrounded by smeared blood. Oh, right. From when I was walking downstairs. I looked at my hands and found the corresponding red smears and dried blood under my fingernails. Claws? What was I supposed to call them, anyway?

My attention was brought back to Don when he disappeared briefly and returned with a first aid kit. Which was apparently equipped for more than just your everyday accidents, as it was more like a suitcase than a kit and contained loads of gauze and bandages, several pairs of tweezers, a bottle of disinfectant, and all the basic necessities for stitches, as well. I think there was even a collapsible crutch in there.

Don applied cream and bandages to my cuts like a pro (which, considering his family, I had no doubt he was). He didn't ask any questions; he already knew how and why they'd gotten there.

We made it safely to the kitchen (I kept a firm hold on Donnie's arm the entire time, though—you never can tell when overactive imaginations will act up), and I settled down at the table with a nice cup of reheated coffee. Hopefully not decaf; I needed the caffeine.

"You're sure I can't tell anyone?" Don asked quietly, sipping from his own mug.

I nodded. "Positive. Unless you absolutely need to. Or I'm dead. You can tell everyone then."

He looked vaguely amused by this. We sat there quietly for a while, just drinking coffee and enjoying each other's presence—or, rather, it was just me enjoying his. Still, it was peaceful.

After a while the lair showed signs of life; Raph crept out of Mikey's room, trying not to wake him. Why wasn't he in his own room…? Oh, well, whatever. I'm sure it was nothing. After all, it isn't as if this was some perverted yaoi fic.

I waved at Raph as he came down to the kitchen. He raised his eye ridges at me.

"You're up early." His eyes darted over to Don, then between the two of us. A smirk turned up the corners of his mouth. Was he seriously thinking…?

"Yup. And it's not what you think," I said flatly, taking a swig of coffee. Don had turned an interesting shade of dusty red. It looked very odd against his green skin. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

Raph took one look at Don's blush and his smirk widened into a grin. "Sure it isn't."

"I am so going to kick your ass," I muttered, ignoring Raph's snort. Maybe I could find a spider somewhere. He opened a cabinet and took out a box of cereal.

"Coco Puffs?" Now it was my turn to grin. It was incredibly amusing to picture Raph in place of the loony bird in the commercials. _I'm coo-coo for Coco puffs!_

Raph frowned at my giggles. "Watch it, Quinn. You have training later." His wolfish grin sent a shiver down my spine. Not like I'd ever tell him that, though.

"Oh yeah? Well, I could always just ask _Leo_ to teach me." I smirked at his obvious annoyance. "I'm sure he'd do a _great_ job."

"Well then why don't you—"

"What's going on?" Mikey asked, unintentionally diffusing the argument between Raph and me.

He entered the kitchen with a weight to his normally energetic step that could only be attributed to his half-asleep state. He actually bumped into the wall on his way over, he was so out of it. I giggled.

"Is he always like this?"

"Usually," Don said, apparently finding my reaction to Mikey more amusing than the behavior I was laughing at. Mikey located his chair after a few failed attempts, then plopped down into it.

"Morning," he mumbled, making me grin. I reached across the table and poked him. No reaction. Well, his eye twitched, but I think that was mostly just him trying to open it. I almost laughed again, but remembered my nightmare and sobered instantly.

Raph started to put away the Coco Puffs, but I wasn't having that.

"Here, I'll take it." I all but snatched the box from his hands and took a bowl from the cupboard. The milk was still on the table, and soon I was munching happily away on my delicious highly-sugary cereal. Tammy would probably want some, too, if the chocolate cake from last night had been any indication.

And then—speak of the devil—she was entering the kitchen, considerably more awake than Mikey had been. She had barely sat down before claiming the box of Coco Puffs. Leo turned up next, looking calm and in control as always, nothing like in my dream. He seated himself at the end of the table and poured himself a bowl of a very healthy-looking bran cereal.

I could forgive his cereal choices, however, because of the first thing he said.

"So, I was thinking that after this we would do some training."


	28. Tammy's senpai

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter twenty-eight; Tammy

* * *

Thatcher loves me.

He leaves presents on the floor right where I'll be sure to find them and then gives me this adorable look that apologizes for the gift not being bigger.

I cleaned up the mess -and my foot- before dressing and grabbing the harness with my jo in it. Despite taking it on for beginner's purposes I found I quite liked the staff. Although the yumi that had been selected for me would stay in the armory until I could fire it regularly I found that having the staff with me was comforting.

Peaking out into the main area I made sure nobody could see me before pulling it from the leather strap and holding it in front of me. Giving the thing an experimental and purely childish spin I accidentally knocked one of the boxes stacked in the room back. I jumped forward to catch the box before a huge crash resulted, only to discover empty air behind it.

Curious, I inspected the area and discovered that the boxes were hiding a desk, a set of weights and what looked like a crumpled up hammock. "Forget about it." I grumbled, imitating Raph's accent. "Ch-yeah, he tricked me into taking his room!"

With a little effort I managed to place my jo back in the harness. I had to sigh and let go of my frustration with the turtle. He was being hospitable and considerate towards my ego as well, but this simply wasn't going to cut it. I wasn't going to displace these guys... especially when I could easily be headed home inside of a week.

Depression settled over me like a heavy cloud. I didn't want to leave. These guys… Quinn…they reminded me so much of my own family... before they started 'growing up'... And Thatcher...

Biting my lip I shook myself out of it. I had a degree to earn and it wasn't possible to earn it here anymore. Besides, it would be best to get out of here before Thatcher got too attached; he hardly spent time with anyone other than me.

Casting the foul mood off like an old cloak I headed for the kitchen, ignoring the fact that it felt like I'd packed on another layer rather than shook it off.

Fortunately I had reason for a better mood when I reached the kitchen. Mikey was almost dead, but not requiring medical attention so I went for the Coco Puffs. Except for Leo, who was just a little behind me and seemed to be coming from the direction of the dojo, everyone had gotten into the kitchen before me. Fortunately there was enough cereal and milk left. I poured myself a bowl and dug in. Leo went for something with more bran in it than horse feed. After he'd prepped his own breakfast Leo announced; "So, I was thinking that after this we would do some training."

I looked up and grinned. To be honest; I still hurt from yesterday... a lot, but the idea of learning more already was way more cool than paying attention to –say- the way my hands throbbed constantly.

Mikey peaked one eye open. "Can I help teach the girls?" He asked. Across the table I could see Raph get that 'my student, back off' look he'd been having a lot lately.

Leo nodded. "Since we have the entire day ahead of us we need to make as much use of it as possible." Raph still looked suspicious, but he couldn't object. I smiled as I continued to eat my cereal.

Donnie however frowned. "Don't push them too hard." He warned. "They just started and the last thing they need is to start off with stress injuries." When he'd finished his warning he looked right at me, I swear he's asking for it. Next time I catch him with his guard down I'll give my jo a _real_ practice swing. If he does anything to try and coddle me today...

Fortunately Leo argued my case for me... uh, sort of. "Agreed, but we can't go too easy on them either. Time could be short and with the girls in danger taking it easy would do more harm than good."

I tried not to smile as I nodded. "Yeah, what he said." From the look on Donnie's face I saw this was not a problem that was going away. Maybe I can switch with Quinn. She'll get ticked off, teach him a lesson, we switch back before Raph kills me, problem solved!

Yeah, no.

It wasn't long before breakfast was finished and we all trooped to the dojo. The guys did their thing while we were under close instructions to observe. (Good news; I didn't nearly get impaled by anything! Bad news; I actually got bored) Fortunately Thatcher had learned his lesson and chose to stay away from the turtles and their crazy fighting.

After at least an hour of educational programming Leo released Raph and Donnie to their respective students for our lessons while he stayed behind to work with Mikey on the kata he'd been too busy goofing off to practice.

"Ready to go?" Donnie asked.

"Absolutely." I grinned. After separating ourselves from the other two duos Donnie and I ran through our warm up and stretches. I found I could reach a little further than the day before, if only a little. Donnie also noticed the slight improvement and encouraged me to keep practicing a couple of the stretches throughout the day.

When I was ready (obviously Donnie had just gotten done training and didn't need to warm up) we reviewed the blocks we'd covered the previous day. I noticed that as suspected he was pulling his shots more than the day before. After reviewing the blocks we moved to the strikes and I bided my time. He started calling the attacks for me. A punch, a kick, another punch, another kick. When Donnie called the next move I did what I knew would probably get me into trouble. He called a punch and I gave him my best forward kick. He easily blocked but I was satisfied with the solid feel of the attack.

"Tammy! What the shell did you do that for?" He demanded, a little shocked that I had stopped playing the good student.

"I'll answer that when you tell me why you're pulling your attacks more." I snapped. He looked like he was considering his reply, I didn't give him the chance to construct one. "I thought I was supposed to be learning to defend myself, If I can't even take a simple hit like you'd been dealing out yesterday how is this-" I gestured to include the dojo and its occupants in general, my training in particular, "-going to do any good?"

Donnie looked at me solemnly. "I just wanted to make sure you don't get hurt and impede on your training." He argued.

"I'm not getting hurt, but I have this nagging feeling my training is being 'impeded' anyway." I hinted. Why are so many people convinced I'm fragile? He was acting as bad as my father!

"What is required is a balance…" Donnie started to explain.

I crossed my arms, feet set wide. "Right, so you go from good, solid hits yesterday to taps that barely connect before you pull back today? Don! I'm not that delicate! You're not the only one who grew up in a house of brothers, I can take a hit!" It was frustrating beyond belief. I could wrestle with any of my brothers as a kid, but growing older everyone had treated me like a girly-girl. Now that I have an opportunity to overcome that, Donatello's doing the same thing!

"Maybe so, but too much force and you'll get hurt." Donnie insisted.

"And too little force leaves me in a dark alley with no way to defend myself." I snapped, trying to remind him of my inability to do anything but hide the day those ninja had attacked outside my apartment.

Instead, he got a stricken look on his face. I'm not sure what it was that I said but there was a look in Donnie's eyes that told me I'd more than struck home. It was kind of scary and I almost wanted to take back what I'd said. There was a sort of pained, haunted look that reminded me of the men at the VA hospital... the ones you had to be careful around.

His expression was really starting to upset me. "Donnie?" I asked after a few moments of almost painful silence. "You okay?"

Donatello blinked and looked away. "You're right. I'm sorry." He apologized, sounding far more sincere than a simple argument required. It almost sounded like he was apologizing for throwing me to the lions. "We… we should move on to your jo practice."

I walked to the edge of the dojo and retrieved a couple of practice staffs, still feeling a little off balance from the way Donnie was acting. After returning to where we were training he had me take my stance. "From the right." He warned, then attacked.

His staff struck mine with a loud, solid clack. I blocked it as I'd been taught, but the vibrations shot through my hands and up my arms till I could feel it in my chest and feet. At first I wasn't prepared for the heavy strike, but the second attack ("from below") I countered more fully prepared. The force of his staff on mine nearly knocked my balance off and I could feel the pain renew in any muscle that thought it was going to get a break for the day.

It hurt, really hurt...

... and I had to grin. As far as I was concerned; this was the _only_ way to learn.


	29. Quinn spars with Mikey

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter twenty-nine; Quinn

* * *

Raph is a sensei from hell. Have I mentioned that?

He has zero patience, a horrible temper, and can't really explain things well, so you have to figure everything out based on sight alone. Add Herculean strength to that and, when first learning to block attacks, you have one nasty time.

Man, it was awesome. I could actually feel the vibrations go through me when he had me start doing basic blocks against a wooden staff; actual blades probably wouldn't be such a good idea just yet. Not to mention my ears do not appreciate the ringing and clanging sounds of metal-on-metal contact.

After almost an hour of learning and practicing blocks against his staff, I felt about ready to collapse. My muscles were groaning, strained well past their limits, and I could feel the leather-wrapped form of the tekko digging into my palms further with each intercepted hit. I just hoped Raph wouldn't notice.

I think Leo did, though, because a few minutes later he called for a break. Mikey had even gotten us bottles of water. He's such a sweetie.

I managed to sit down with some semblance of grace despite my protesting leg muscles and gulped down a whole bottle of water. I took the brief moment of peace to take in my surroundings. Tammy looked exhausted, and like me had made quenching her thirst the first priority. Don was hovering nearby, looking worried and like he wanted to tell her something, but holding back. Why…? Never mind. I'd ask him later.

Leo and Raph were bickering, like usual, probably over the fact that Leo wanted to teach Tammy or I himself, and Mikey wanted a turn too.

Speaking of which, Mikey was suspiciously absent from the scene. I would've expected him to be pestering Tammy or me, but…

"BOO!"

I almost jumped, but my body was too tired to care that it had just been sneak-attacked. I turned and glared at Mikey, who was grinning at me.

"Not funny. I'm trying to relax here." He pouted, but I was having none of it. "I'm only going to forgive you because of the water bottles." He grinned and looked at said bottle, now empty and in my hand. His eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. What was he looking at?

…Oh, shit.

"Quinn, you have—" I slapped my hand across his mouth.

"I'm fine," I said, giving him what I hoped was a convincing smile. He responded with a dubious look. "I'm taking my hand off. Keep your voice down." He nodded and I released him.

"You're not okay," he said insistently. I sighed. At least he was quiet about it.

I took the moment to actually look at my hand. Most of it was fine, but I had a raw red line across the center of my palm. Parts of it had become blisters. Ugh. No wonder Mikey had reacted so strongly. Looking on the bright side, this meant I was going to have some killer calluses. This would _not_ be happening again. Hopefully.

Mikey mercifully decided not to comment any further on the condition of my hands.

A few minutes of precious relaxation later, we were back on our feet for another round of training. This time, Raph and Donnie had been benched, and Mikey had taken over my training while Leo had switched out with Donnie. Raph was leaning against the wall, sulking and glaring at Leo but occasionally glancing over at Mikey and I. Don looked much more placid, but was still watching Tammy and Leo closely.

"Okay!" Mikey clapped his hands together and grinned. "We're going to do hand-to-hand combat."

I just stared at him. This was because of my hands, wasn't it?

"No, seriously. Take off your belt."

I did as he said.

"See, I know Klunk is really flexible. And he's really good at jumping, too." I could only hope that knew this from simple observation, and hadn't tried to teach the poor cat tricks or anything. "So we're going to see if you're the same way!"

I just stared at him for a while. Was he _serious?_

"…Really?"

"Yeah! You need to know your limits and capabilities when you fight," he said cheerfully, and I had to admit that was pretty sound reasoning.

What happened next was extremely embarrassing at the time. Mikey had me bend over backwards until I literally formed the letter "O", forwards until I could see the world from between my ankles, and jumping until I had proved that I could indeed land on my feet. Every. Single. Time. Mikey actually ended up tossing me into the air, and I still managed to land on my feet. I don't know how, I just _did_.

It was embarrassing because when we broke from stretching into actual sparring, I glanced over at Don and Raph. They both looked surprised. Don's brow was furrowed, too, like he was trying to figure something out. I didn't look back their way again after that.

I must admit, after a while I was extremely glad that Mikey had decided to take me off the tekko, at least for a little while. My hands felt a little better and more importantly were easier to ignore now that they weren't being chafed.

The actual sparring was…fun, dare I say it. My hits were dodged, blocked and parried, but it felt good to just let it out. It was easier to learn and control just your body, rather than having to worry about heavy metal contraptions in your hands. Mike led me through most of it, but after a while he said I could try to land a blow on him all by myself.

I tried. I failed. It was awesome anyway.

By the time the whole thing was over, I had to hand it to Mikey. Hand-to-hand had been a great idea. When I told him this, he grinned and waggled his eyebrows—er, where they would've been.

He opened his mouth to make what was sure to be a cheesy pick-up line or suggestive comment, but Don intervened.

"Mikey, remember our talk."

And that was it. Suddenly the awesomeness and weirdness of the moment was just too much to take. It bubbled over, and I was grinning like the Cat I'd been made to look like.

A little voice in my head piped up to say that soon, I would have to tell everyone about where I'd really come from. I did my best to ignore the little voice and enjoy the rest of the training.


	30. Tammy's buzzkill

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

Heh... I do not own the little tune I slaughter at the beginning of this. It's a poor variation on the Muffin song by a funny kid on Youtube.

* * *

Chapter Thirty; Tammy

* * *

"Water… how I love you…" I'm sure there's copyright infringement in there somewhere but I don't care. I was thirsty and Mikey gave me drink, he is officially on my good side. "You were there for me, when I was sad… and also -_slurp-_… when I was thirsty."

I lay on my back using my thumb to cap the water bottle when it was upside down so I didn't drown. Nearby I was vaguely aware of a heated argument coming to an end and before I knew it Leo was standing over me with a look of concern similar to the one on Donnie's face… although it didn't come with the strange 'I'm not happy and I want to argue' look he'd been sporting almost since we had our talk. The biggest difference between Leo and Don at this moment seemed to be the fact that Leo wasn't going to hold his tongue.

"Are you alright? You look…" He fought with several phrases before tactfully supplying, "Exhausted."

I smiled. "You mean loopy?" Leo nodded. "Yep, endorphin buzz." I explained, he nodded again but didn't look convinced. "More training?"

"Yeah, I'll be training you this session." He confirmed.

I smiled, feeling silly for smiling so much but not really caring as I sat up. "Cool."

He led me back onto the mat and I settled into the position of attention he'd shown me the night before. This seemed to gain his approval as he managed a slight smile before falling back into the uber serious expression he'd used for the guys' training session. That was fine, I had my own boring expressions.

"I thought we should bring you to a certain point of regularity in your training, make sure all your bases have been covered. We'll begin with establishing what you already know and go from there." He said. "So, what self defense training have you had prior to coming to New York?"

Oh boy, such a long list. "Go for the eyes and when you plan to hit someone in the groin don't knee them just kick flat out… oh, and don't be afraid to hurt someone if they're out to get you."

For a moment Leo's eyes glazed over, I'm really not sure what was going through his head but my answer was clearly not what he'd expected. "That's it? Three pieces of advice?"

"That's it." I confirmed.

"Well," He said in a tone that hinted he'd do the best with what he had, "At least we don't have to worry about unlearning bad habits."

"Alright, then we start with the absolute basics." Naturally by the basics he meant the dead basics; falling. After I had proven I could hit the floor without injuring something (being hurt was another matter, I was hurting constantly by now) he had me take the stance Donnie had taught me and run through the basic blocks and attacks.

He then expanded on these techniques, teaching me a few others and then having me start to memorize them in a pattern he called a 'kata'. While he explained the importance of learning to blend these attacks and blocks into smooth combinations and bla, bla, bla I felt my eyes wander over to where Quinn and Mikey were training. Quinn was looking a little hesitant as Mikey made a brace with his hands, then tossed Quinn head over heels… she landed on her feet. At least somebody was having fun.

My distraction was immediately replaced with full attention when Leo mentioned; "… practice it at least once between today and tomorrow morning." Great! More homework. First Donnie's strength and flexibility exercises and now a kata… perfect.

After running through the kata a few more times to make sure I had it memorized Leo had me attack him with the different moves I'd been taught. While some of them were okay 'for now' others were heavily criticized and I was made to repeat them over and over again till they passed inspection.

The session came to a sudden and excruciating halt when I tried to do an elbow thrust as ordered. I hit with the force he'd been trying to get me to use for the last ten minutes on this move, unfortunately my arm hit him right at the top of his plastron.

I stumbled back, clutching my arm as pain tore up and down the limb, throwing my fingers into a spasm and reaching so far up I could feel it tingling in my jaw as I bit my lip till I tasted blood. Normally I tried to brush this kind of injury off – but it **_hurt_**!!!

I was vaguely aware of the guys and Quinn coming over and asking if I was alright, but to be honest my vision was kind of obscured and despite my best efforts to the contrary I could feel tears making their way past my eyelids.

Firm pressure on my shoulders started to direct me to the kitchen. "We'll get you some ice for that." Donnie assured me, "And some protective gear after that."

"You too." Mikey ordered, giving Quinn a push to follow us. "Donnie, could you take a look at her hands?"

"Right, they're probably pretty raw by now." Donnie said knowingly.

In the kitchen I was given an icepack and pressed it against my arm, unfortunately the pain didn't seem to go away any faster. Donnie pulled one of the large first aid kits out from under the sink and took Quinn's hands to examine them. As he rubbed a cream onto the raw, blistering line on Quinn's palm Donnie muttered under his breath almost non-stop. I didn't have to hear him to get the general idea of his near-silent complaints; he clearly didn't like the idea of us getting hurt in training.

A thought occurred to me, I _really_ hoped Leo wouldn't feel guilty about this, it was a simple accident and considering my luck something like it was bound to happen sooner or later.

It wasn't too long before the lancing pain in my arm started to wane. However; I had noticed something else other than Donnie's muttering. Quinn's tail was doing a slow curl that she didn't seem aware of. When she spoke to Donnie it flicked slightly. By the time Donnie had finished wrapping her hands and instructing her to wear the wraps during all her practices I was biting my lip again, this time to hide the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth.

_Interesting._ Ve-e-ery _interesting_


	31. Quinn's nightmare lives

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

Happy New Year! Hopefully 2010 will be a year of great memories and good experiences!

* * *

Chapter Thirty-one; Quinn

* * *

Ahhh. Sweet, sweet relief. The salve felt like heaven on my raw skin. Donnie is truly a god.

When he was done wrapping my hands, I flexed them experimentally. Still fully functioning, if a little restricted by the bandages.

"Thanks, Donnie. It feels a lot better."

"No problem. Just leave the bandages on until I change them and don't let it get to that point again." I nodded.

On my way to the kitchen for…uh…lunch, I think, I saw Tammy giving me an odd look.

"Is your elbow feeling better?"

"What? Oh, yeah, thanks. I just banged my funny bone." I winced at the thought. "What about your hands?"

"They're fine, now. I swear, Don's hands are magic." Sure could've worded that better. Oh well.

We moved into the kitchen just in time to see Mikey hanging up the phone.

"I was going to make burgers," Tammy sighed.

"Too late! I already ordered the pizzas."

"We're having pizza?"

"Apparently so," I said. Did Leo just groan? Wow. He never complains.

Raph walked past, already donning a trench coat and fedora. "I got 'em." I thought of (relatively) fresh air, a cool breeze and the Sun, and I was itching to go topside myself.

"Can I come with?"

"Sure." Don and Leo shot Raph looks that said they thought otherwise. I ignored them.

"Great!" I felt the grin split my face. "I'll be just a second."

I made a dash for my room, tugging on a long shirt and the baggiest pants I had, stuffing my tail into them. The boots from my first excursion on the streets were still the only pair I had, so I put those on, too. My tekko were painfully obvious in the unhidden belt, but I didn't really have any way to cover them and I wasn't about to go anywhere without them. The hoodie might've worked, but it was nowhere to be found. Not that I was complaining, mind you. It was just another thing that reminded me of Elder.

I finished changing and dashed out into the main room of the lair. I did a mental check of my appearance and realized I still possessed freakish yellow eyes and cat ears. Hmm.

"Anyone have sunglasses or a hat?" I asked, hoping there would be something somewhere in the lair. "Bandanas are also good."

"I have a bandana," Mikey piped up, still in a good mood due to the promise of pizza. He ran up to his room to get it, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Now I would only have the eyes to lie about. I'd probably just say I was wearing contacts.

The bandanna was bright orange, and while it wouldn't really help me blend in all that well, this was New York, so no one would care anyway. The only issue I really had with it was how uncomfortable it was to have on; my ears were pressed flat against my head. For the first time, my hearing was muffled. Now that I was paying attention, I felt off-balance, too. Probably because of my suppressed tail. It was…weird. I really didn't like it.

I thanked Mikey and then departed into the sewers with an annoyed Raphael. The silence was deafening, and though I thought up a few ice breakers, I couldn't summon up the courage to actually use them. Urgh.

"Don't ya need somethin' ta cover up those eyes?"

I was startled out of my thoughts. "Huh?"

He gestured with his hand. "Your eyes ain't covered."

"Oh. Yeah. If anyone asks, I'm wearing contacts." He gave me a dubious look. "No, really! They have contacts that make your eyes look like this."

"Whatever," he muttered. "As long as ya don't expose us. I ain't Leo."

"I know. And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not really normal either."

He snorted. I would've been insulted, but this was Raph. He was just like that. Rough, you could say.

"Are your hands okay?" he asked, and this time I was more surprised by his tentative tone of voice rather than the suddenness of his speech.

Hah, alliteration.

"Yeah," I said quickly. "You shouldn't feel sorry or anything. Not that it's your fault or anything, I mean, my hands need to toughen up anyway and—sorry, I'm rambling. I'll stop now."

More silence. I couldn't tell if I had stunned Raph into not saying anything, or if he had just reverted back to his usual non-talkative self. Whatever the case, Raph didn't say anything until we reached a manhole cover and he slid it aside to allow us an entrance to the surface world. Even then, it was only to tell me to follow him.

We emerged in an alley, and as Raph slid the manhole cover back into place I tried to gain my bearings. The sounds of the city were impossible to sort out while my ears were in their current position. It was annoying, to say the least.

It seemed like early evening-ish. Well, good. Darker meant more cover. And I could still see perfectly. Not only that, but with my tekko and amateur ninja skills even a simple trip to pick up pizza was suddenly epic and badass.

Mikey had apparently arranged for the pizza to be delivered at a rendezvous point two blocks away. We got there seconds before the car pulled up. He seemed unfazed by Raph, and stared at me for only a moment longer than he did Raph. Thank you, New York.

"Twenty-three forty-nine."

Raph handed him the cash and took the boxes, and the deliveryman drove off. The walk back to the sewers was just as agonizingly quiet as the rest of the trip.

"You're really quiet," I muttered eventually, fed up with the silence.

"I'm a ninja."

"I know."

More silence.

"What's your favorite color?" Oh god. I was really grasping at straws.

He gave me a look that questioned my sanity. "Red."

Oh. Duh.

More silence.

Ugh.

"Could ya stop that?"

I snapped to attention. "What?"

"Humming. You were humming."

"Oh. Okay."

AAAARGHH.

"When's the next training session?"

"Tomorrow."

Nnnngggghh. Why Raph? Why must you be so stoic?

Think of something. SOMETHING.

I was about to open my mouth and try to kindle another conversation when the breeze switched direction and carried with it a scent that was unfortunately very familiar.

Foot ninja.

"Raph," I hissed. "I smell ninja."

He was instantly on alert. "Shell." His eyes darted to the shadows, and I copied him, searching the general area that the scent had come from. Even with my enhanced senses, I couldn't find them. Damn ninja.

I barely had time to pull out my tekko before they had us surrounded. I proceeded to mutter expletives under my breath that most certainly will not be repeated here.

Karai stepped forward. Raph growled.

"Dr. Elder sends his regards," she said. I really wanted to kill her right then.

"Tell him he can kiss my sai," Raph snarled, leaping at Karai. One of the other ninjas moved in front of her to block the blow. Thank you, Raph, for echoing my sentiments.

Karai apparently saw fit to continue delivering whatever message Dr. Elder had given her despite a very pissed-off Raph.

"Dr. Elder wishes for you to return home, Alice." Kill me now. Please just kill me. "He misses you, and although he respects your desire to explore the outside world, he misses you greatly, and would like to see you again."

I'm pretty sure I was shaking like a leaf by that point. I could literally feel my heart hammering against my ribcage.

"He wishes for you to know that he will always love you, and you are always welcome to come home."

"Shut up!" Raph shouted, finally, and aimed again for Karai. But, in true ninja fashion, they disappeared in an eruption of smoke. Raph slashed at the empty air.

"Damn," he cursed. He turned, saw me and my scared-ness, and hurried over. "Shell, are you okay?"

"Haaaaahh," I whimpered, sinking to the ground. He reached out to catch me.

"Hey, hold on. Let's get back." He went to carry me, but I pushed his hands away.

"I'm fine," I said, but even I could hear the tremor in my voice. "I can walk. Can you get the pizza?"

Raph hesitated, but went to retrieve the stack of boxes, giving me a moment to compose myself. Enough to make it back to the lair, anyway.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

It was going to be a long trip.


	32. Tammy researches

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

Happy New Year! Hopefully 2010 will be a year of great memories and good experiences!

* * *

Chapter Thirty-two; Tammy

* * *

"Curses." I muttered half-heartedly, watching Raph and Quinn leave the lair on their quest for pizza. "Foiled again." I had been too annoyed with Mikey's sneaky trick to inform Quinn that her brightly colored hair and orange bandana weren't going to keep her from being noticed. Quite the opposite actually. Thankfully her fur had receded enough for her to go out in public.

I decided I could put off my ninjitsu homework for a couple hours and instead went to the room that Raph had tricked me into taking. I settled down on the cot where Thatcher was more than happy to join me. He rested his head lightly on my outstretched knee and it all would have been very sweet… if the rest of his body wasn't on my entire leg below that.

Unfortunately, I discovered he was too cute to just shove off. Quietly bidding adieu to my circulation, I picked up the books I'd found on genetic manipulation and modern research.

The book was good. After a healthy, in-depth review of genetics in science it went on to describe several different types of research being done, including the possibility of combining genes of unrelated species.

About halfway through it switched from research, to potential application. One essay in particular caught my interest.

_… With modern developments in the utilization of genetic therapies there may literally be no cap on what can be accomplished. According to some, gene therapy could very well hold the Philosopher's Stone of modern science…_

I felt my eyebrows lift. The Philosopher's Stone? He couldn't possibly mean…

_You see, geneticists have already isolated the genes responsible for initiating the aging process, advancing human development at different stages and even for stopping the aging process. We may actually be entering the decade in which old age can be treated as a disease, and cured. The human lifespan could be extended by decades, centuries even…_

I frowned. Dr. Elder had already proven he could succeed in combining species… what if he were hired to look into different realms of genetics?... what if someone already in this research learned of his accomplishments?

The Philosopher's Stone originated in Alchemy and Dark-ages beliefs. The search for how to make gold and how to live forever had not been pretty and the development of modern science –although still controversial- wasn't usually so steeped in greed and fear. But if modern genetics could provide what alchemists aimed for…

Quickly I turned the page, eager to learn more. On my leg Thatcher shifted and gave a slight yap. My mind started along another tangent and I barely noticed what I was reading.

The noises Thatcher made were no longer canine: they only held slight vestiges of the puppy bark I'd heard him make just the other day. It made me curious what sounds he'd make when he was fully grown.

On the other hand; what was fully grown? Would he hit full size for a large dog and stop? Or would he take on reptilian qualities and keep growing even more? It occurred to me that even if he just grew to full size for a giant breed dog; if his wings grew with him he could never stay in the sewers. Then again, would he survive long enough? Currently he was just a patchwork of genes. They looked stable and so far he seemed healthy enough, but would the genetic 'glue' placed by a madman hold? What if the chemical suppressants on his immune system affected not only the implants, but his entire immune system?

What if the process had been perfected in Thatch… but not with Quinn?

Thatcher made a squeaky yip when I slammed the book in my hands shut. For a moment I just sat there, eyes closed, forcing myself to think of anything and everything other than the graphic images that were suddenly forcing themselves into my head. I had to get Dr. Elder's files and he had to be locked up as soon as possible. Other than that there was nothing I could do and that was that.

"Tammy?" Leo stood in the door of the room holding something in his hands and looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I… Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff too much. I do that." Smiling slightly and shrugging off the dark humors that had settled I asked, "So, what brings you to Raph's neck of the woods?"

The turtle in blue smiled slightly. "You weren't supposed to find out about that." He said apologetically. "If you're not comfortable with this we'll try to work something else out."

"Tonight I should probably just sleep in my own apartment." I said, trying to smother the reluctance, and the attachment to the dragon currently killing my leg with his weight.

"And give Mikey an excuse to order pizza for dinner and breakfast too? Forget it." Leo asserted. "We'll find something so that you don't feel like you're imposing, okay?"

His understanding was appreciated. "Thanks. So what did you want to see me about?" I tried to pull my leg out from under Thatcher. Despite my efforts he continued to rest contentedly on the limb… which was now completely numb.

"I wanted to take a couple measurements, get started on those arm guards." Leo explained. Although he hid his smile he was clearly far too amused at my predicament.

"Sure, I'm obviously not going anywhere…Thatch down! Off! Mush!... mutt." Leo chuckled slightly as he stepped closer, straightening out a string he'd brought with him. He had a nice laugh, it was a shame he didn't use it more.

"Alright, now hold your arm out, this will just take a second…" I did as I was told. Unfortunately he flinched when he saw the bruise on the elbow.

"Yeah, I know." I said, trying to lighten the mood, "I have skinny little arms, don't rub it in."

Smirking slightly, Leo wrapped the string around a few parts of my arm. "You're not you know." He said after a while.

"What? Skinny?" He'd confused me there.

"That yes." he grinned for a second before looking serious. "I meant an inconvenience. Don really appriciates your expertise and being able to train students is something none of us thought we'd ever do."

I couldn't help it, I flushed worse than when Mikey and Raph had woken me up at the dinner table. It wasn't even a real compliment!

Just as he'd finished the measurements Thatcher suddenly perked up. In an instant he was at the door looking back at me as if he couldn't understand why I wasn't following him. Meanwhile the blood returned to my leg with all the relief of hot acid.

With Leo's help (and nagging… yes Leo, I _know_ walking on it is the only thing that's going to get the circulation back quickly!) I managed to get to the door just in time to see Quinn doing her 'I'm not upset, why the #%& would you think I'm upset?' routine as she disappeared into her room. Raph was greeted by a cheerfully oblivious Mikey who was far too happy to collect the pizza from him.

Glancing towards the entrance to the Lab I could see Donnie had also seen Quinn. Giving him a questionable look I glanced back toward Quinn's room before looking to him. He shrugged. The three of us (Donnie, Leo and myself) then turned to Raph for answers. He glowered. "Get yer shells down here. Ya ain't gonna like this."


	33. Quinn's troubles increase

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started

* * *

Chapter Thirty-three; Quinn

* * *

I stumbled to my room as quickly as I could upon arrival. I collapsed onto the bed, ripping off my bandana and liberating my tail, taking slow, deep breaths and in general just trying to calm down.

I mean, finding out your sort-of father, a mad scientist who made you into an anthropomorphic cat, was still stalking you, and was using _ninjas_ to do it? Yeah. Pretty scary.

After a while I started to hear Raph telling everyone how we'd been jumped on our way back from getting pizza. Quietly, too, so they were probably trying not to let me hear.

"…An' then Karai started spewin this stuff about Elder lovin Quinn, like a daughter. Creepy as shell. Hit Fuzzy pretty hard." _Fuzzy_? Was he still calling me that? That son of a— "Karai said Elder 'wanted to see her again' or somethin."

"This is bad," I heard Don mutter. "Quinn's already been traumatized. Elder coming back isn't going to help."

"No shit, Sherlock," Raph snapped. "You shoulda seen her, she looked like she'd seen a ghost."

"It's also a problem that the Foot is working for Dr. Elder now," Leo said. "They were passive this time, but what if Elder tries to take Quinn back by force?"

"So, um, I'm guessing there's a lot of these Foot ninja around?" Tammy asked.

"Yeah, but they've stayed in the shadows for a while now. Elder must've hired them."

Where the hell was he getting all this money from, anyway?

"What I don't get is where he's getting his funding," Tammy said. Wow. Spot on. "I didn't see any patients while I was there, but the files on his computer said there had been."

"You went through his computer?" Leo sounded surprised and impressed.

"Well, yeah. I'm his only technician, I pretty much have the run of the place. I need to have access to his computers to do my job right." She sounded kind of miffed. And more than a little smug.

"Hmm." I could picture Don's face as he thought through the situation. "Tammy, do you still work for Dr. Elder?"

"Well…technically, yes. But I was planning to turn him in to the police."

"Don, I know what you're thinking. And the answer is no."

"But, Leo, we know almost nothing about Elder. If Tammy has full access to his lab and files—"

"It's too dangerous."

"Dangerous or not; I have to get Quinn and Thatcher's records." There was a slight pause. "What else were you thinking?"

"Well…we need to get more information on Elder before making a move. Since you work there, I was thinking…"

"You want me to be a double agent?"

"Don," Raph growled. Okay, so one vote against.

"You don't have to!" Don said quickly. "It'd just be for a little while. Until we know enough."

"That ain't fair, Don."

There was quiet for a while.

"It wasn't fair for Quinn," Don muttered eventually. "Or Thatcher."

I breathed in sharply. Okay, that was a low blow. True, but…still. Low.

"Guys, I appreciate your concern, believe me, but it's my responsibility to try and stop Dr. Elder before he can harm anyone else... and before he gets hurt."

Well, that was…kind of her. Being a double agent for the greater good, and for the well-being of everyone involved. Awfully self-sacrificing of her. Not that I was complaining, mind you. I wanted to get rid of Elder more than anyone.

There was a brief silence. Then, "Quinn oughta know about this."

"No!" Don hissed. Woah. Placid Don getting angry over something besides a ruined gadget? "She shouldn't have to…" He sighed. "Quinn's been through a lot. I don't want to risk traumatizing her any further than she has been already."

Okay, time for me to step in.

Someone had started to argue with Donnie, but as soon as my door creaked open quiet fell upon the group.

"Hey guys," I said, not even bothering to attempt cheerfulness.

"We were just talking about Tammy finding a new job," Don said, lying smoothly.

"No, you weren't. Cut the crap, Don, I was listening. I heard the whole thing." I leaned forward on the railing. "I get that you think this is going to make things worse for me. And thanks for trying to help. But honestly, the best thing for my screwed-up psyche right now would be for Dr. Elder to vanish off the face of the earth. Even knowing you guys are getting tabs on him makes me feel better."

I took a deep breath. Wow. That was a long speech, for me. Usually I reserved such long spouts of verbiage for rants on fandoms. Then again, considering the situation, I shouldn't have found it too surprising.

"I still don't like it," Raph muttered. Leo shot him a _shut up_ look.

"I'll get Splinter, and we'll all talk this over." While Leo went to get his sensei, I made my way downstairs and sank onto the couch in the first empty spot I saw that wasn't Leo's spot or Splinter's chair. I ended up between Raph and Tammy.

"Hey," I murmured tiredly to the two of them. I felt drained.

Raph grunted a response and Tammy spoke hers, albeit quietly. The air was heavy with tension; I don't think anyone wanted to speak any louder than a whisper. I noticed Mikey then. He was sitting on the far end of the couch, chewing timidly on his pizza slice. His face looked surprisingly serious. For Mikey, anyway.

Finally Leo brought Splinter back out.

And we started to plan.


	34. Tammy's distractions

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-four; Tammy

* * *

Listening to the guys hash over every possible scenario that could go wrong Monday had left me with an air of paranoia I'm willing to bet the President himself had probably never been acquainted with.

But I managed to keep my composure and hopefully nobody saw me attack my fingernails again to the point where more than one finger was now sporting a little dried blood. I hadn't picked my nails that short since junior high… Looks like I didn't grow as far out of my old habits as I'd thought.

The plan as it stood so far was for Donnie to get me a memory device of some kind and to modify a 'spare shell cell' to look less 'conspicuous'. Okay… whatever that was… The 'shell cell' was in case anything went wrong. Apparently Quinn would be getting one too.

Monday morning they would sneak me into my apartment. I would then go through my day as normal except I needed to download as many of Dr. Elder's files onto the memory device as possible. That evening they would sneak me out of my apartment and all the time between being snuck in and snuck out of my apartment I'd have one or two shadows ready; just in case.

Now that the strategy session was over Don and Quinn were headed for the lab to get started on those shell cells. Raph muttered something about 'change th' oil' and headed for the garage while Mikey booted up one of his game systems.

For several minutes I just sat there, so lost in thought that I didn't see where Leo and Master Splinter had gone off too – probably the dojo or the kitchen.

After several minutes the lights flashing in front of me stopped. I blinked and looked up to see Mikey had already stood up and was now looming over me with a smile on his face. " Play any games?" He asked.

I blinked again. "What?"

"Video games! Do you play any?"

"Uh… not really." To be honest, I usually did so bad I turned my aim from finishing to seeing how badly I could mess up.

"Well then now's a good a time to start as any, come on!" He literally seized my arm and half dragged me to the couch next thing I knew there was a remote in my hands and a new game in the system. Mikey was rattling off instructions on how to play. Next thing I know "Super Mario Brother's 2" pops up on the screen.

Okay, this I can handle…

* * *

**HELP ME! HELP MEEEEEE!**

"Is there an option where we can abandon the princess?" I asked.

"Dudette! Saving the princess is the point of the game! Peach is counting on us!" Mikey insisted, grinning. His eyes were completely glued to the screen.

"Yeah, yeah, it's always save the princess… Just once I'd like to see some ditsy little prince pleading for help."

"Something tells me you'd abandon him too."

Am I getting that predictable?

In the last few hours our conversations had ranged across why I'm against pizza (I'm not against pizza, I'm against eating my weight in grease every week) why Mikey is so supportive of pizza (Dude! Isn't it obvious?) and the general socioeconomics of the mushroom kingdom caused by the ineptness of the monarchy leading to the Koopa family holding a vendetta against the royals… video game chat is weird.

So is the video game's mystical ability to take my mind off real life issues no matter how serious they may be. Maybe this is why Quinn plays so often.

I was just about to put forth a time challenge to Mikey on one of my favorite worlds when I felt a tap on my head. Looking up I saw Leo smiling slightly. "Don't you have some homework to do?" He hinted lightly.

Sheepishly I nodded, "Be right there."

After apologizing to Mikey I went to the dojo and ran through the stretches and strength exercises Donnie had assigned to me. After running through a couple he had just suggested I stood in the middle of the dojo and tried not to feel foolish as I started the kata.

Leo had joined me in the dojo where he could work with some leather and observe… of course for this guy observe meant a good deal of critique but I did my best to follow his suggestions. With the leather he was working with I noticed him pull out the string a lot and compare before making cuts.

A few more movements and I came to a finish on the kata. Seeing Leo watching me again I took a risk and bowed. He chuckled slightly, but returned the gesture with a respectful nod. Good, then I probably hadn't made a complete fool of myself. "Do you think that after dinner you could teach me a little about proper behavior in the dojo?" I asked.

Unconsciously I rubbed my tongue against the roof of my mouth. I'm not sure where from, but something tasted bad and it was lurking at the back of my throat.

"I could teach you now if you want." Leo offered, he put aside some of the leather and stood up, "I'm nearly finished with this as it is."

I appreciated the offer but shook my head. "Sounds great, but I should get to dinner before Mikey gets to the phone."

"Already taken care of." Leo assured me. "I made a meatloaf while you and Mikey were playing video games. It's in the oven now."

"Great!" That was perfect, beat Mikey to the punch and I love meatloaf.

Senpai Leonardo directed me to the edge of the dojo. "Okay first thing you do before entering the dojo is to take off your shoes and bow. This shows respect for the dojo, and protects mats." I nodded. He proceeded to teach me the proper form for bowing, how low to bow to whom and when bowing was expected. Once we had that covered he went further into the dojo.

"Now, Mikey already showed you how to stand at attention, and you've shown you learned that well enough." I listened carefully as he instructed me on the proper method of going from a standing position to a kneel and back. Despite the lesson I kept swallowing and trying not to be obvious about the bad taste in my mouth, what was the cause? "Right, nice and smooth…" I promptly fell over. "It does take a little balance." Leo confessed as he helped me to my feet.

"Say Leo?" We looked up to where Raph was standing. He had what looked like several lengths of thin cut leather in his hand. Changing the oil my foot, he'd been making wraps for Quinn's hands. "Who's cookin' dinner?"

"I am." Leo replied.

"Yeah, well, it's burnin'."

So _that's_ where the bad taste in my mouth was coming from…


	35. Quinn and Donnie Geeks

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Oh, and neither of us own the geeky stuff only nerds will understand near the end of this chapter ;p

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-five; Quinn

* * *

As Donnie and I descended into the lab, my mind was awash with questions. Questions like _what should I say to him? Won't this just be really awkward? What if he asks me more about my nightmares? Or my life before now? What did I even volunteer for this in the first place?_

The answer to the last one was thrown back in my face. _Because you haven't done anything to help the turtles, and look at what they've done and continue to do for you._ And there was nothing wrong with spending some alone time with my favorite turtle, either.

"So how much do you know about dissembling and reconstructing electronics?" Don asked, rummaging through a box of gadgets.

"Not a whole lot. But I'm pretty sure I'm not going to break anything, and if you show me in general what goes where, I should be fine."

"Okay." Don emerged from the box with two shell cells. "These are the shell cells." I nodded. _I know what they are._ "I'll start on this one. You can try taking the other one apart, if you think you can handle that."

"Sure."

He pulled out two screwdrivers from his almighty tool box and handed one of them to me, along with the shell cell.

"I'll show you what to do next once you've taken off the outer plates."

We got to work, the only sounds being our breathing and the whirr of the computers, and the occasional squeak of our screwdrivers taking out screws.

"I'm impressed," I said once the cover was off, eyeing the complicated insides of the shell cells. Wires ran from a screen and antenna and sound devices and data chips to the center of the cell, a complicated looking little machine.

"Thanks. Could you disconnect the antenna from the receiver?"

I was pretty sure I knew what he meant. "Sure."

He walked me through a few more disassembly steps, and when I was done he took the pieces and I got his almost-finished one instead. It looked very much like a normal cellphone. So much so that I suspected he'd used a normal phone for the outside, and maybe some of the inner parts as well. He showed me how to arrange the inner parts and lock the outer pieces together, and I did so after only a few failed tries. I felt incredibly accomplished.

Don took my finished cell to look over for any mistakes and gave it a thumbs-up. Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves two refurbished shell cells!

"Thanks for the help."

"It's the least I could do. I haven't been helping out enough." Got that right. What else have I done so far, make French toast? It was about time I started pulling my weight around here. "Speaking of which, is there anything else you want help with?"

He glanced around the room. "Uhhh…Yeah, actually. I'm working on modifying the shell cycle, too. It's in the garage."

Have I mentioned I know absolutely nothing about motors, motorcycles, cars, or vehicles of any kind? "Sure."

He smiled, and it was all worth it. "Great! It's this way." Don led me into the "garage": a large space filled by the shell cycle, battle shell, turtle taxi, and other souped-up vehicles. Like I said, I knew next to nothing about them. But this was still _hugely_ impressive.

"Hey, what are you two doin' here?" Raph? Forget us, what was _he_ doing here? And what was he hiding behind his back?

"I'm going to work on the shell cycle," Don explained. "And Quinn volunteered to help. What are you doing here?"

"Nothin," Raph muttered. "See ya later." He slid past us out of the room. I looked to Don, who shrugged.

"He's like that sometimes. You just have to leave him alone." I nodded. I was more than aware of Raph's moodiness.

Don wasted no time, towing his tool box over to the shell cell. Carefully, he lowered it onto its side.

"Could you hand me the screwdriver? The size 1 Phillips."

Okay, this I knew. I chose one of the smaller Phillips heads and put it in his waiting hand. He took it and started to work.

"I'll admit it's nice to have people around who don't think everything I say is techno babble."

"Just most of it," I teased. He looked startled, but after glancing up at me he cracked a smile.

"Yeah, well. Thanks for helping me out, too."

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see it. "Like I said, I should do this more often. You guys have done so much for me."

"It's nothing. TORX, size 3."

Uh oh. "Uh…"

"It's the one with the six-pointed star head."

"Got it." I exchanged the driver in his hand for a drill bit. He already had the driver down there, the sly turtle.

I was starting to get bored—listening to a lot of drilling could do that. So I started humming the first thing that came to mind. The Boom De Ya Da song from Discovery Channel. I kid you not.

So it came as even more of a shock when Donnie started humming along.

I mean whoa. Don…watched Discovery Channel. Wait, why was that surprising? Of course he watched Discovery Channel. He probably liked Mythbusters just as much as any other self-respecting geek.

Let's see how far his geekdom stretched.

I switched to the Star Trek theme song. He hummed along.

I hummed the theme to Stargate SG-1. He hummed along.

I hummed the freaking Geeks in Love song from Lemon Demon. And he knew that one too.

"I reject your reality—"

"—and substitute my own." Don grinned up at me, eyebrows raised. I felt the heat rush to my face. It occurred to me that my red face must look really weird with a pink-and-purple striped tinge. "Space—" Okay, so the tables had turned.

"—the final frontier."

"It's life, Jim."

"But not as we know it."

"I didn't take you for a Trekkie."

I shrugged. "I'm not, really. My dad kind of got me into it. And then there was the Reboot with Zachary Quinto. That pretty much cemented it." I grinned. "You'd fit right in at my school."

He gave me a wry look. "Yeah, I'm sure they'd respond well to a giant mutant turtle."

Oops. "Sorry."

He sighed, shook his head. "It's fine. We're used to that kind of thing by now. Not fitting in and all." Something in his voice suggested otherwise. "It's why we live down here."

"Still, that sucks."

"I guess."

"You can talk to me about it, if you want."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm fine." His tone of voice told me to drop it.

"Fine."

"Fine."

We fell silent again. Something was starting to smell bad. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but…

"Wrench." I distractedly handed him the tool. Yep. It was definitely becoming more distinct.

"Don, do you smell something?"

"No. Not really." Of course he didn't. He had his face buried in the oily engine of a motorcycle.

"It smells like…" Oh, no. "…smoke. Don, I smell smoke!"

"What?! Where?!" He bolted up from the floor. I was already halfway up the stairs. When I opened the door and dashed out into the main room, I saw Leo frantically trying to put out a small fire in the kitchen. Smoke billowed out from whatever he was trying to extinguish. I also noticed that while Tammy was trying to help him, Raph was watching with an amused expression. And Mikey was just ignoring the whole thing while he played video games on the couch.

"What's going on?" Don asked. Raph snorted.

"Fearless leader here tried ta make dinner. He ain't too good at it. That's his meatloaf," he smirked.

I peeked over Leo's shoulder once the fire was out and saw a small smoking lump in a glass mold. No one spoke for a good minute; it was a feat in and of itself to ruin anything, let alone _meatloaf_, this badly.

Mikey was the first to speak.

"So does this mean we can order pizza?"

* * *

I love the whole world, it's such a brilliant place,

Boom de ah da, boom de ah da...


	36. Tammy's shell cell

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... pity her.

Disclaimer; Meditation can be dangerous... in general I really don't recommend experimenting with it.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-six; Tammy

* * *

Master Splinter has raised four boys into their teenage years and instructed them in the ways of the mystical art of ninjitsu. He has somehow managed to be a single father, great teacher and wise confident to the most unusual family history will likely never see and throughout all this he remains calm and caring. He is possibly one of the most impressive individuals I have ever had the honor to meet.

Even _he_ can't teach me how to use chopsticks.

By the time the little clan had admitted defeat and given me a fork I was starving and not a little embarrassed.

It has taken some convincing, some begging and a majority vote, but we'd finally talked Mikey into ordering Chinese food rather than pizza. Once the food arrived Master Splinter emerged from his quarters. Personally; I don't think he likes pizza. This makes me wonder if he has some kind of stash in his room. There's a thought, what would Master Splinter hoard away from his sons?

As what had started as a veritable mountain of food dwindled into a few scraps Quinn and Raph became increasingly competitive. (I noticed _Quinn_ can use chopsticks… is there anything this girl can't do?) The climax of their silent aggression came when both sets of chopsticks reached for the last dumpling. Clearly they had noticed each other's interest in this particular food and had been competing for them throughout the entire meal.

… some people are just weird.

Soon their chopsticks were dueling, Quinn trying to get at the dumpling and Raph blocking her attack. A hand snaked out and tried to grab the dumpling but Raph once again blocked Quinn's attempts by seizing her wrist. After struggling to reach the dumpling with outstretched fingers Quinn changed tactics and twisted her hand around so that her claws just indented the skin on Raph's hand. It was a stalemate; Raph's bulk, strength and ninjitsu training against Quinn's sheer determination and claws.

The stalemate ended when an outside force took the dumpling.

"What?!" "Hey!" Leo, Don, and I had to laugh while Mikey chewed the stolen prize.

When the last of the take-out had been eaten I stood up and started collecting the containers while Leo grabbed the rest of the trash. Everything was gone. Every last crumb, even as we started cleaning up Thatcher came out of the kitchen with a look that said he'd polished off his own dinner too. Looking in what used to be a full carton of chow mien I found myself thinking out loud. "At my house we always had tons of leftovers, I'm going to have to find a way to ask Mom how she did it."

"And that would be my queue." Donnie announced with a grin. He pulled out what looked like a couple of cell phones and tossed one to Quinn before handing the other one to me. "With Quinn's help I was able to finish the modifications in record time. Go ahead, give it a try."

I glanced from Donnie and Quinn back to the phone. "Um… the only numbers I know are all long distance."

"Even better. Go ahead." The poor guy looked like he was ready to start hopping from foot to foot. Nothing like taking an enthusiastic approach to your work.

I flipped the phone open and struggled to figure out how the thing worked; technology is not my strong suit. Finally I dialed ten very familiar numbers and held the phone up to my ear. After a moment of listening to the line connect and ring I heard possibly my favorite voice ask; "Hello?"

"Dad!"

"Tammy! How are you? Is everything alright?"

"Yes Dad, everything's fine." I assured him. For the most part, that was the truth… just leave out the bit about my boss being a psycho.

"That's great! You taking care of the gun?" He asked. There was humor in his voice, he knew how much I'd admired that thing and had no doubt I would.

Leo was taking Raph's trash so I was able to glare at both turtles at once. "Yeah Dad, just finished cleaning it actually." Okay, now _that_ was a lie.

After that was the longest telephone conversation I'd ever had with my father, I think it lasted eight minutes. It was a good thing Mom was out shopping or this call would have lasted over an hour easy While I was catching up with Dad the guys finished cleaning the trash up. Another dumpling turned up and Quinn ran off with it followed in hot pursuit by Raph. Leo followed the both of them to make sure this didn't turn violent. Master Splinter seemed content to sit at the head of the table with a fresh cup of tea. I half wondered if he was eaves dropping.

Finally Dad assured me that he'd tell Mom I'd called. "Love you, miss you." He said, just as he always did.

"Love you too, Dad, miss you."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I almost cried when the line went dead. No sooner had I felt that familiar knot in my throat than I lost my ability to breath as the air was crushed out of my lungs from behind. "Aw… you didn't tell Daddy about your new friends." Mikey pretended to pout despite the fact that we all knew why I couldn't. He released me from the hug and I was too busy gasping for air to respond.

Donnie took the phone from my hand and pressed a rapid series of buttons before returning it. "Looks like everything is functional, did you have any problems?" He asked.

"…" I coughed and cleared my throat before trying again. "No. The sound quality was great, the connection was good, that thing's better than a land line." I assured him.

"Great, you know how to text message right?" Before I could answer 'no' Donnie plowed onwards, "Just use the same concept to put in any of our names; Leo, Raph, Mike, you get the idea, and you'll hook up to our own shell cells. Other than that, plug it in for an hour once a day and bring it back once a year for its annual shots and checkup."

I had to laugh at his joke, "That's my line!"

He grinned, something about that look reminded me of Mikey and I found out why as soon as he said, "You plug your animals in once a day? That's unusual." His humor was rewarded with an attempted swing at the head, which he easily dodged.

Leo returned to the table looking entertained. He had hardly sat down again than Master Splinter set his cup down and glanced around at those of us around the table. "I believe that after the events of today some relaxation may be in order before we retire." I blinked, what did he call sitting around the table eating? Strenuous?

"I recommend we conclude this day's events with a period of meditation." He said, something about the tone of his voice told me this wasn't just a recommendation. I didn't like the idea but couldn't find a major reason to object.

Mikey and Donnie led the way to the dojo while Leo went to track down the missing mutants. In the dojo Mikey and Don set up several candles. By the time Master Splinter came in with a lit stick of incense and started lighting the candles Mikey had made me sit down on the floor and was trying to talk me into sitting in an extremely uncomfortable position with both feet resting on the thighs. I didn't bother telling him I'd done some research on the subject and had no intention of trying the mystic (and creepy) meditation that went with that position. Besides being creepy, it was dangerous.

Finally the candles were lit and Leo brought Raph and Quinn into the room. (Quinn sat next to Donnie, I'm beginning to see a potential pattern here.)

Once the main lights were out and the room fell into a comforting dim glow Master Splinter took the space left by the half circle the rest of us were sitting in.

We all sat comfortably with legs crossed and spines straight. Master Splinter started instructing us quietly in controlling our breathing and I did as instructed. When his instructions began to encourage us to clear our minds I slowly tuned his voice out. Empty minds were just asking for trouble and I much preferred a different sort of meditation.

It didn't take a moment's thought to call the card catalogue to mind. The thing had changed over the years, from a poorly stained pine box like the one from my elementary school to a beautiful redwood with smooth finish. I pulled one of the drawers open and looked inside. A moment's consideration and I selected a bright, new card. Across the top in bold font was the word 'Yumi'.

My imaginings were interrupted at a sudden weight in my lap. Glancing down revealed Thatcher had claimed my lap for his nap. I smiled and moved my hands so he could better settle himself. One of his wings pressed lightly against my stomach once he'd relaxed. I set my hands to work rubbing lightly at his scales.

Looking around revealed everyone else was in La-La Land. Quinn and Leo were smiling at what I suppose must have been a very pleasant nothing. Donnie's hands twitched slightly, either from boredom or visualizing something. Raph had a stern look on his face, obviously not having an easy time of this. Mikey was surprisingly calm and relaxed, but his lap was occupied by a certain ginger cat that I didn't see too often, cats had that effect on people. Master Splinter was still murmuring calming words but I'm not sure he was aware of it anymore. He seemed to have left the premises –so to speak.

Closing my eyes again, I continued to pet Thatcher while I found the card again.

Yumi, subtitle; visualization training.

I revived the new memories from training with the bow. The feel, the sound, all of it. After running through what had happened the last time I'd shot I changed tactics, trying to see myself not only shooting, but hitting the mark, dead on.


	37. Quinn's still not sleeping

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... I don't know why she hasn't tried selling him yet, ask her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-seven; Quinn

* * *

The meditation was relaxing, if a bit hard to get into because I had just been hightailing it all around the lair while fighting Raph for the last dumpling. Eventually, I had managed to eat it before Raph could snatch it away, and the memory brought a triumphant grin to my face.

All in all, I had a pleasant time just daydreaming. Flying, cloud watching, recalling bits and pieces of story ideas I'd had over the years…It was nice. Very relaxing.

It was apparently an unspoken agreement that this meditation period would be followed by sleep. And, so, when everyone else started filing out of the room, it was only natural that Donnie would hang behind to give me that worried look. The one that asked me if I was going to be okay.

"I'm fine," I said, giving him a smile. "Really."

He didn't look like he believed it, but he rubbed his face wearily with one hand and headed for the hills along with his brothers anyway. Tammy went to Raph's room, while it looked like Raph was going to be bunking with Don. I suppressed a grin at this. Raph was so awkwardly kind. It was actually kind of adorable.

And as for me…Well, I had a long night ahead of me. There was no way in hell I was falling asleep again. Not with the nightmares. And they seemed to be getting worse, too, if the few occurrences were anything to go by.

So I did what any normal person attempting to avoid sleep would do. I made coffee.

I swear, I'm going to become a coffee junkie if this keeps up.

Next I had to find something to preoccupy myself. Not TV; that was too mind-numbing and could possibly give way to sleep. Video games were slightly better, but were still stationary and took place on the strangely comfortable couch.

So I went to the dojo. I figured it was about time I actually practiced. And, really, what better time to do it, now that I knew I could go on for hours uninterrupted?

I started with the punching bag. I mean, how hard could it be?

Very hard, as I learned after a solid five minutes of punching it with my bare hands. My caffeine-hyped brain eventually registered that I was supposed to be wearing wraps or tape or something.

That was it. I was switching to ice water.

There were, sadly, no wraps to be found, so I had to give up on my brief fantasy of teaching myself how to box. A few moments later, I had made a full recovery and was instead going through the motions Raph had showed me with my tekko. Something called…something I couldn't remember. It wasn't katana, those were swords. But something similar. Tana, maybe.

I was startled out of my practice by a meowing sound from behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skin, and my frazzled nerves were infinitely relieved to discover that it was just a cat.

So this was the elusive male cat who'd been hanging around Don's lab earlier. Klunk, if fangirl memory served correctly.

"Hello," I said quietly. It was so silent in the lair that I didn't want to speak in anything above a whisper.

Klunk just looked at me. Of course. Cats don't speak English.

So, what, did I speak Cat? Did they even have a language?

My brain was starting to hurt.

I sheathed my tekko and crouched down in front of Klunk. He cocked his head at me, and I tilted my head to mirror his.

"So what's up?"

In hindsight, attempting to talk to a cat was probably not one of my more sane moments.

"I'm half-cat, in case you couldn't tell," I offered. "I used to be human, though."

Klunk meowed and came closer. I sat down and settled to scratching his chin. He closed his eyes and purred, leaning into my hand.

Wow, he was actually pretty cute. In an adorable feline sort of way, I mean. I could see why Mikey was so fond of him. I pulled my hand back.

"Hey, want to see me do some tana?" He tilted his head. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

I took out my tekko and launched into a fast-paced series of movements. Wow. Showing off to a cat. I was _so_ cool.

…And Klunk had fallen asleep while I was practicing. Nice.

Although completely devastated by this, I decided to let sleeping cats lie and went to watch TV. Hopefully I would be able to stay awake.

Hm. _The Mentalist_ was on. A rerun, but still. Good show. And Jane never ceases to make me laugh.

After _The Mentalist_, there was a rerun of _House, M.D._, so of course I stayed to watch it, but that was where the reruns of good shows ended. I wandered back into the dojo. Klunk had vanished, so I stretched a bit and then ran through the exercises again.

By the time I finished, I was sweaty and tired. I decided a shower would be a good way to occupy my time, as well as get clean, so I trudged up to my room.

Where I found a pair of leather wraps lying on my dresser. Their scent identified the would-be anonymous donor as Raph. Why had he…? Oh, well. It was thoughtful of him, in any case. I wondered whether I should thank him later or if he wanted to remain "anonymous".

Ugh. Teenage mutant ninja turtle guys were so _complicated_.

I picked a shirt at random from the small selection I had, and a new pair of pants, too, sweats this time. They would probably be much easier to deal with during training. Especially during stretches.

I spent all of ten minutes hunting a clean towel down, only to remember that there was a perfectly good one beneath my stack of clothes.

Lack of sleep does stuff to you.

Once I figured out which way was hot and which was cold, the shower was heaven, and soon I was lost in pure bliss.

That is, until my back started to burn. I choked back a yelp and shut the water off, opening the shower curtain to look at my back in the mirror.

There was a long, angry red line slanting across my back, straining against the equally gnarly black stitches that held the wound closed.

My mind drew a blank for a moment before I remembered that I'd acquired this wound during the fight with the Foot ninja my first night here in the TMNT-verse. And now I had managed to open it back up again. Great.

I turned the water back on, staying out of the stream until I was sure it was turned to a lukewarm temperature instead of the scalding hot it had been before.

I took the opportunity to unwrap and examine my hands. Still red and a little nasty looking, but overall much better than they'd been when Donnie first wrapped them. I'd definitely be using those wraps Raph had given me from now on.

After the shower, I fished around in the cabinets for gauze or some bandages for my back. I found a roll of gauze and some Vaseline in a drawer and applied them before my back could start to do any major bleeding. It was a messy job, but hopefully it would hold up well enough. I wasn't about to wake up Don; he needed all the sleep he could get.

The shower was over far too soon for my liking, and then came the arduous task of drying my fur.

Don't get me wrong; the short translucent fur on my body was dry in seconds. It was my _tail_ that was the problem.

After a while I went back to my room and settled onto the bed with the brush Tammy had bought me and alternated between drying and brushing my tail. At first it was tedious, but eventually the movements became rhythmic and I fell into a state of repetition. My hair was next, and when I deemed myself presentable I got to winding the leather strips around my hands.

I then proceeded to nullify the shower I'd just taken with a long session with the punching bag. Damn it felt good to hit things.

"Yer up early."

I jumped, scared out of my skin by the sudden noise. But it was only Raph, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed like a true badass.

"Don't scare me like that," I muttered, frowning. "I know you're a ninja, but…jeez! I nearly had a heart attack!"

"Any time."

Damn his smirk. "So did you sneak up on me for any particular reason, or do you just enjoy being a creeper?"

"I came in ta practice, but ya beat me to it."

I shrugged and gave one last swing at the punching bag. "Do you want a turn with this now, or what?"

"Nah." I saw his eyes linger on my hands. Probably noticing that I was putting his gift to good use. "I was thinkin, since you're here, we could do some sparring."

"Sure." The word was out of my mouth before my aching arms and hands could tell me this was a bad idea.

He nodded. His gaze flickered down to my hands again. I glanced at them myself and saw that my fingers had turned a lovely shade of red. Oops. I probably hadn't wrapped them right.

Raph scowled and sighed, then walked over to wrap them correctly. His dexterity amazed me. You'd think someone with only two, thick fingers, he'd have trouble with a thin strip of leather. But a few seconds later I found myself with much more comfortable hands.

"Thanks."

He grunted. "Next time, make sure you wrap 'em tighter. More around the knuckles, too."

"Okay." To be honest, I was pretty sure I wouldn't do a much better job next time. But at least now I knew what the wraps were supposed to look like when put on correctly. That was a start.

Then it was time to spar. My back felt alright, but that was probably more due to the slathering of Vaseline and bandages than a lack of stress on the wound. The aching muscles in my arms and legs, however, told me to cease, desist, but I forced them to block his attacks anyway.

I got the feeling he was pulling his punches, but I wasn't really in a position to complain. If he aimed any stronger attacks at me, my arms and legs would probably give out.

Several blocks later, they were going to collapse anyway. By some divine act of mercy, the smell of bacon and eggs and other delicious breakfast items was enough to make Raph call off the sparring. I took a moment to stretch out my arms and legs--making sure I was out of his sight first; I didn't want him thinking he'd hurt me--before trailing after him.

I eased slowly into my seat at the table, still sore, but the smile I gave Mikey was genuine.

We were served an amazing breakfast courtesy of Mikey, turtle chef extraordinaire. I really hope we can coerce him into cooking more often, because the food was just _awesome_.

Leo came ambling downstairs a while later, surprisingly disoriented for someone who was normally so composed, and Tammy followed shortly after, but was considerably more awake than Leo. Donnie was last, walking down to the kitchen like some sort of zombie. His eyes were all but closed, and he moved on muscle memory alone. It was fascinating to watch. It was also kind of cute.

…No. Curb your fangirlishness, Quinn. Now is not the time. Eat breakfast.

I had just eaten a mouthful of scrambled eggs when I caught the looks the turtles were giving each other. Even Donnie and Mikey were shooting looks from the coffeemaker and stove. Speaking of the coffeemaker, I was pretty sure I'd forgotten to clean out my leftover coffee from the pot. I could tell when Don noticed this because he frowned and glanced over at me. I looked down at my toast, probably a decent shade of red. I was pretty sure there was another therapy session with Donnie coming up. Wonderful.

I noticed after a while that the turtles would occasionally look over at Tammy, then back at each other, asking silent questions.

…Oh.

_Oh_.

Today was the day she went back to her apartment.

The day before she went back to the lab.

A chill ran down my spine and I was suddenly very, very not hungry. I stared down at my now unappetizing food and managed to swallow down the last of my bacon before being reduced to fiddling with my fork.

The bacon did nothing to get rid of bad taste in my mouth.


	38. Tammy worries for Quinn

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... I don't know why she hasn't tried selling him yet, ask her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-eight; Tammy

* * *

Michelangelo is officially a better cook than my dad… don't tell Dad I said that though.

Everyone seemed a little antsy. The guys were doing that whole "We've been living together far too long and can almost read minds" thing where they seemed to be having mute conversations with their expressions. Leo looked tired, Mikey was quiet, Raph kept scanning the room and Donnie was moving around with the mental capacity of a mildly intoxicated slug… glad to see not everyone was keyed up. Quinn was glancing around looking a little tired and blinky. I had to wonder whether she was really as awake as she was letting on or if she was as awake as the coffee was keeping her.

Between Donnie and Quinn I am praying that the caffeinated coffee holds out until I get back to the lab, I half suspect these Foot ninja might be safer than angry, coffee deprived mutants… or who knows? I might get lucky and the withdrawal symptoms could be severe enough to drop them… Just so long as nobody actually looks at the new coffee can while I'm around…

Around the time I started wondering whether or not to bug everyone and try to find a good preacher on television I realized I was avoiding the issue. I knew I should be worried… heck, I should be wetting myself on a regular basis just thinking about everything. Instead I was making light about the possibility that just going in to work tomorrow could get me killed, or even going back to the apartment tonight. But I still shoved aside these more important issues; giving Quinn and Thatcher's condition a serious think-through had nearly left me in a panicky cold sweat, I wasn't quite ready to face any other demons.

These thoughts were pushed from my mind when I felt a paw on my leg. Looking down, I was greeted by a sleepy dragon; looks like Quinn, Donnie and Leo weren't the only ones who hadn't slept too well last night. Pushing aside my plate, I went to go feed Thatcher. By the time I got back to the table somebody had finished off the bacon… including what had been on my plate. I shot Raph a look and was considering the virtues of accusing him when Leo cleared his plate and stood up. "Who's up for another session of training and lessons?" He asked.

"I'm in." I called. I'm not sure but Quinn looked ready to say no, still she grinned and agreed with me.

Hmmm…

After practice I'm going to have to give her a talking too.

We headed over to the dojo where Mikey and Don started warming up. Leo and Raph disappeared for a minute and came back with my all-time favorite material -_leather_. Raph helped Quinn try some arm guards on that didn't quite fit, "Told ya they were different sizes." Raph called to Leo.

My arm guards fit perfectly, and comfortably. Leo also had some additional gear for me which, like my yumi, and the quiver, would not be constants. On my left arm was a simple strip that tied to the tender underside of my arm, the part that was exposed to the string of the bow. "The yumi has enough strength to do some pretty major damage to your arm." Leo explained as he helped me tie the guard into place. "This will prevent that.

"It's true then, there really is more than one way to skin a vet tech." I quipped, drawing from an empty threat one of my favorite instructors used to use. Leo just gave me a strange look as he helped me get the other archery guard on. Maybe I'm trying a little too hard to get the guy to laugh?

This last piece was a little more complicated. It had little cuffs that protected my right hand's index and middle finger, the fingers used to draw the bow. Straps secured these cuffs at the wrist. "Okay, do you understand how to wear these?" Leo asked. I nodded. "Good. Now take them off and get your jo." I quickly did as I was told while the boys started their advanced training (which remains the coolest thing I've ever seen.)

The guys warmed up, then set to sparring and whatnot until Master Splinter came in. Quickly the boys lined up. Master Splinter began explaining how best to use a new technique he was going to teach the boys. They listened with varying levels of interest. For Mikey's part, he started looking very, very interested. Within a couple minutes I figured out that he was putting on an act because his attention kept wandering.

I smirked and glanced over at Quinn to see if she had noticed.  
Nope. She was sitting there with her chin on her chest and by all appearances, likely asleep. "Quinn?" I asked softly.

Her ears flicked slightly and she looked over at me. "Yeah?"

"You awake?"

"Yeah. I'm totally awake." Uh-huh, and for her next trick; Quinn will be selling ocean front property in Arizona. Hurry now, operators are standing by.

"You sure?"

"Yes! I'm fine!" She insisted, turning her attention back to the guys' training as if to indicate the conversation was officially over.

Finally the guys finished their session. They looked a little short of breath, but seemed as eager as I was to get started on training with us girls. Mikey started with Quinn and Don came over to start me on hand to hand. After a quick warm up he signaled for some light sparring. I was interested, usually he started with review.

For a moment we circled each other. I tried a couple kicks and punches, all were easily deflected. Donnie faked a couple moves of his own, allowing me to block. At one point we'd circled until Don's shell was to Mikey and Quinn. Quickly he mouthed, '_She okay?_'

I punched, he grabbed my arm and threw me lightly. When I recovered my back was to Mikey and Quinn. '_No, not okay._' He frowned but didn't say anything else.

Instead he upped the ante a bit on the sparring match, throwing different punches and kicks, trying to grab at me several different ways from several different directions. It was difficult, trying to remember all the different moves I'd been taught in just the last two days. Admittedly I knew we were in something of a crash course, but it was still difficult. For the most part I remembered what I needed to do, but there were a couple times Donnie had to stop and run me through a technique a few times. "You're doing great, just remember to keep practicing." He encouraged.

"Right." I agreed. Once again Don moved suddenly from in front of me around to my back and grabbed each of my wrists in each of his hands. I threw my right arm out slightly and ducked under his arm as it came up. This pulled my hand free and allowed me a palm strike to his throat, pulling my attack just before it reached his skin.

"Good, let's try something else now." He stepped back, then walked to the side of the dojo to retrieve my jo and a practice staff. "Think you can do this?" He asked, tossing me my jo.

I grinned and barely managed to catch the staff as it came at me. "Sure thing." I replied. Taking my stance, we once again circled each other. Donnie made the first move, I blocked, actually smiling when I felt the force of the attach move completely from my hands, down to my feet and into the floor- perfect. He attached again and I blocked again, except this time I followed up with an attack of my own using one of the combinations Leo had shown me.

"Oh, getting confident are we?" Donnie teased as he blocked my attack easily.

I shrugged. "Just having a little bit of fun."

"So we're having 'fun' are we?" He asked.

"When did you start using 'are we' so much? I thought I was the nurse."

He attacked again, I blocked but before I could respond he did something fancy with the practice staff. "GAH!!" The next thing I knew the room had flipped and blood was rushing to my head. Upside down in front of me I could see Master Splinter covering his eyes, but not hiding the fact that he was laughing. Beside him Leo and Raph looked ready to crack up themselves. "Um…?"

"Hahn?" Donnie answered from behind me. It slowly processed that I was still gripping my jo and that Don's practice staff was digging into my gut. Something hard and sturdy was at my back, and it felt like it was breathing. Looking up I saw Donnie's feet on the floor. "Um, this might be a good sign that you're holding your staff too tightly." He said.

"Right."

Donnie leaned to the side and loosened his grip so I could get upright without braining myself when I fell. As I reoriented myself and looked around I saw Mikey and Quinn had both stopped to stare at me. Great, I've made a spectacle of myself.

When I turned back to Donnie he blinked at me and tilted his head, looking analytical. "They were right, you do blush pretty badly."

"_What_?!?" I realized that either Raph, Mikey or both of them had related the little incident after they'd awoken me at the dinner table. I turned a death glare at them. Mikey quickly tried to look busy teaching while Raph brazenly smirked at me.

Donatello suddenly seemed to realize his slip. "Oh, wait, sorry. Um… how about we head over to the armory, I think Master Splinter wanted to start teaching you how to take care of your yumi."

_Don't change the subject._ I thought angrily. But still, the prospect of a lesson with Master Splinter cheered me up some.

Master Splinter met us in the armory. He held a yumi similar to mine in one hand while gesturing for me to retrieve mine with his other hand. I did as directed and listened carefully as he started going over the basics. The more he spoke the more intimidated I grew. First he had me start rubbing the wood down with a soft rag, then he had me string the bow and practice drawing and releasing several times. All the while he spoke in a calm voice on the care that would need to be taken to keep the yumi in good shape.

"Do you understand the delicate nature of the yumi?" He asked at one point.

I nodded slowly, "Yes …Sensei. It looks like I've chosen a weapon more temperamental than X-ray film." I grinned sheepishly and he chuckled slightly, although I'm not sure if he entirely understood my reference. More confidently I added, "But I look forward to learning." He nodded encouragingly.

"_Quinn!_" "_Ah shell!_" "_Quinn!_"

In a hurry we both placed our yumi aside and rushed from the armory.

Quinn was on the floor, pushing herself slowly to her knees and then to her feet. "Sorry about that, I guess I slipped." I heard her say.

I ran full out over to where she was, despite the fact that Donnie was already standing at her side giving her a looking-over that seemed more thorough than an MRI. What I saw however he couldn't possibly have seen. On the side of Quinn's shirt, the side away from Don, was a yellow streak of something.

As soon as I arrived I ordered, "Hold still." And reached to get a better look at the stain on her back.

Quinn backed away from me. "I'm fine, really, it's nothing." Quinn insisted.

"Not this time." Donnie growled, sounding angry. Wait, 'this time'? How long had she been hiding this?

"Donnie really…" Quinn tried, holding her hands up to explain. I didn't wait to hear what she 'really' meant. When her hands went up I grabbed one of them and promptly dragged her into a fireman's carry.

" 'Really' in a pig's eye." I grumbled.


	39. Quinn fesses up kinda

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elders belongs to Cheshire Dreaming... I don't know why she hasn't tried selling him yet, ask her.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-nine; Quinn

* * *

I let myself go limp as Tammy carried me. I was half dead, Don was angry and worried, Raph was angry and worried, Mikey was worried, and Leo was…getting Master Splinter. Probably also mad. I was pretty sure Tammy was mad too. Great. At least Mikey wasn't angry with me.

Of course, then I caught his gaze and he was emoting the kicked-puppy look. I felt something sink into the pit of my stomach.

And then we were down in the lab and Tammy had shooed the guys away despite their protesting. When she told them I had to take my shirt off so she could look at my back, they turned a funny color and left. Hello, embarrassment.

Tammy unwound my bandages while I examined my shirt. What was the yellow streak from?

"What did you put on this? It looks like gel."

"It's Vaseline."

"Hmm. It looks like the bandages loosened. That's what got on your shirt."

Ah.

"I have to clean the wound. Can you hold still?"

"Yeah." I wasn't really feeling up to moving anyway. Ugh, where was the coffee and Advil?

The first swab was an icy shock to my spine. I jerked, clutching the edge of the table. Okay, now I was _wide_ awake.

"Are you okay?"

"Yup."

Another swab. Another. Another. They actually _hurt_ now that I'd gotten used to the icy feeling. I held back a sigh of relief when Tammy said she was done.

I'd barely gotten my shirt back on when the guys came storming in.

"Quinn! Are you okay?!"

"You shoulda said somethin'!"

"You have to stop pushing yourself like this!"

"My sons." Those two words fell on the room and everything was instantly quiet. I am officially a Splinter fan.

Then his all-knowing gaze turned to me. Uh oh.

"Miss Quinn, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Smile.

"No you aren't," Donatello said firmly. "Not this time, Quinn. Your cut is infected, you collapsed from exhaustion, and you're not getting enough sleep."

"The cut was a mistake. And I was up early training, that's why I was so tired. And I'm getting a dandy amount of sleep."

"'Dandy'?! 'Dandy', Quinn?! Have you slept at all in the last few days?!"

"No! Because every time I do, I see that psycho! _Every single time_! So yeah, sorry if I don't feel like dozing off any time soon." My tone was acidic. I was too far gone to care.

Don didn't say anything after that, and I glanced from turtle to turtle to rat to girl, still pumped full of adrenaline and anxiety. None of them said a word, just stared at me.

And then what I'd just done filtered through my consciousness, and I deflated.

"Sorry."

Splinter considered me. I dropped my gaze to the floor.

"Miss Quinn," Splinter said gently. I took a deep breath. "I would like to speak with you. Please, come with me."

I left the silent room of turtles and one girl behind as Splinter led me to his room. I sat not-so-gracefully on one of the mats, making sure to be careful of my tender back. My sore muscles weren't making the descent any easier.

We just sat there for a while, Splinter with his eyes closed looking meditative and me fidgeting and waiting for something to happen. Finally, he opened his eyes and spoke.

"Miss Quinn, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Splinter's raised eyebrow begged to differ.

"…Okay, so I haven't been sleeping, and I still have that big cut on my back. But all things considered I'm doing great!" I outstretched and waved my arms. As if this would prove my point.

Splinter just kept staring gravely at me, and I lowered my arms. Neither of us spoke. I squirmed an dropped my gaze to the tatami mats.

"I am not your father, Quinn-san." Uh oh. Japanese honorifics. Here it comes. "But I hope you will trust me."

"I do." The answer was the freest one I'd given since coming here. Unfortunately, after my spree of deception, Splinter didn't seem to believe this either.

"Then there is not much else I can ask from you but _honesty_."

My heart skipped a beat. Yes, he was probably just talking about my exhaustion and injuries, but he stirred up the unpleasant truth. I was going to have to tell the turtles sooner or later.

I racked my brain for excuses. It was cold in the room. I needed more coffee. My back hurt. I was in desperate need of Advil. Tammy was going back to her apartment today.

…Tammy was going back to her apartment today.

_Tammy was going back to her apartment today_.

Problem solved. It wasn't the right time! I couldn't possibly shake things up in such a delicate situation. It wasn't right. And certainly not fair to anyone involved.

So I gave Splinter a nod. "Right. No more lying." It's just not telling you what I know, that's all. Nothing wrong with that. It's for your own good, Splinter. And your sons'. I'll tell you later.

He seemed a little resigned. "Very well." He rose, and I clambered to my feet after him. I started for the door, but his voice stopped me. "Miss Quinn"-phew, back to English-"I think it would be bet if you relaxed for a time. Your back needs time to heal." His eyes said a few other things could also do with some fixing. I fought back a wince.

"Okay." Surely I could occupy myself with something other than intense exercise. There was TV, and movies, and video games, and…well, that was pretty much it. There were books and magazines too, but I doubted I'd be able to scrounge one up that I would actually want to read. Don was awesome, and I'd taken engineering courses, but that didn't mean I'd be engrossing myself in one of his technical manuals any time soon.

I walked back out into the living room and was swept up by the turtles.

"Are you okay?!" Mikey asked frantically, scrambling over to grab my shoulders and shake me like a maraca. I tried to keep my teeth from clacking together.

"Mikey," a voice warned, and a pair of reptilian hands dragged Mikey off me. I started breathing again.

"You've got to stop doing this to yourself," the voice continued, and I was faced with a very tired Donnie. "If you need help, just ask."

I tactfully refrained from commenting on how he barely got any sleep himself.

"My sons," Splinter said mildly, and Mikey shut his mouth with an audible snap. "Miss Tammy." His eyes slid to Tammy, standing a ways behind the turtles. "I would like to speak with you before you leave." She nodded and they disappeared into the study. I wondered whether they were going to have another conversation about trust and honesty, what with Tammy going off to be a super-secret double agent and all. Heck, the turtles barely knew her. I barely knew her-she was as new to the turtles as I was to being around them. But I wasn't getting any bad or freak-out vibes from her like I did the Foot or Elder, and she seemed pretty cool. Also, she had made some pretty awesome food.

…I really need to get my priorities straight.

I spent the time before Tammy's departure vegging on the sofa, channel surfing. The turtles had apparently decided now was a good time for a little training session. I refrained from watching, if only because it would be really awkward.

When Tammy and Splinter emerged from the study, the lair was silent and the guys filed out of the dojo almost immediately after them. I need to learn how to do that.

The turtles and I said goodbye, and Tammy and Splinter shared a look that was obviously a sort of continuation of their talk. Even Thatcher seemed to understand she was going away, and came to whine and drool on her shoes and pants. She said goodbye to all of us, and Leo led her out.

As the door closed behind them, I felt a feeling of dread creep in on me.

It was probably common sense to assume such a thing in this situation, but I was sure something bad was going to happen.


	40. Tammy and Splinter

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

This chapter posted early by request of a certain Lady in Blue; good luck and study hard!

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Forty; Tammy

* * *

The floor was covered in these straw-like mats that did a pretty good job of softening the stone underfoot. Master Splinter gestured and I sat down on one of these mats, unconsciously sitting in a more formal position, like I was wearing a skirt or something.

The old rat sat in front of me, meeting my eyes and holding my gaze until I almost shivered. By nature I was more of a wallflower, this direct attention was somewhat unsettling.

"Miss Tammy." He began. I momentarily wondered when the 'Miss' had come back into play, clearly this was serious business. "I am going to ask you a question, and I need your word of honor you will answer it truthfully."

I felt my eyebrows raise. I'd never been asked to do that before. People just didn't seem that earnest anymore. "My word…?" I asked slowly.

"Your word of honor." He repeated.

I frowned, hesitant to bind myself like that, but I nodded. "Alright. I promise I will answer your question as best I can."

Again that unsettling feeling that he was trying to read something off of me. I tried not to feel defensive, it wasn't like he'd ever threatened me… and Thatch liked him.

"Miss Tammy." He repeated. "Why have you agreed to return to Dr. Elder's lab and help retrieve this information?"

What kind of question was that?! I know for a fact I must have looked stunned, but he only prompted me with the slightest tilt of his head. "What?" I managed.

"You are putting yourself in a great deal of danger, possibly more than you realize, when it would be simpler to go to the police, or return to your family." I stared at him. It took several seconds to realize that he was serious.

"What? But I… I can't…!" I felt more confused now than when Leo had asked me to talk to him. "That… that would be…" I couldn't form the words for a few moments I must have looked like a fish out of water I was so flustered. Finally I found words that fit. "This is my responsibility!" Master Splinter didn't respond, what, didn't he believe me? How could I explain myself? "I have to fix this…" Okay, that wasn't exactly right. "I mean… I'm the one he hired, I have a legal and ethical duty to… I mean…" Dagnabbit! I'm sounding like a lawyer… a drunk lawyer. "Thatcher… and Quinn… your sons…"

I wasn't wording this right and all I was doing was confusing myself more and more. Finally I stopped. For a moment I closed my eyes and listened to my breathing, only when things seemed clearer did I look up. "Everything I have been taught, everything my parents have passed on to me and all the experience and knowledge that has made me who I am today would come to nothing if I turned my back on these events and left. I am the medical professional who first recognized that Dr. Elder was not well, that makes him my patient and I will not –_cannot_- abandon my patient. That responsibility extends to Thatcher and Quinn as well."

Now that I was thinking in a more linear fashion I thought of something new and flushed, my eyes dropping to the floor. I'd been trying to 'nurse' the guys too by more or less taking over their kitchen… I'd have to watch myself on that. Still blushing I added; "And I like it here. It's…" Warm? Comfortable? "Nice, even with all the crazy stuff, it's nice here. I want to help where I can."

Swallowing, but confident that I'd kept my word, I looked up. Once again I was met by the strength in his eyes, but the stern attitude that he'd held me too had softened slightly and he looked more like the teacher who had shown me the best way to clean my yumi not too much earlier today. "I had believed your reasons were as you've said." He said softly. "I simply needed to be certain… and for you to be certain as well."

I nodded. Things did seem a little clearer now… a little…

"And what of Dr. Elder?" He asked, still more softly than before.

"He's not well. He needs medical attention and he needs to be reported to the authorities in order to get that attention." I replied, my hands tightened on my knees until they turned white.

"Miss Tammy." Master Splinter said evenly. "It would not take as many years as I have to realize you are conflicted.

"He's sick…" I mumbled . I closed my eyes for a moment, flinching and opening them again when I saw Quinn, tired and terrified. "He needs treatment." I added more forcefully. By now my hands were shaking, I could feel the acid churning in my stomach.

He was my patient, my responsibility…

And I wanted to hurt the man more than I'd wanted to hurt anyone in my life. How_ dare_ he do to Quinn what he's done? A part of me was screaming to forget the police, put him down like a rabid dog, but I quickly shoved that voice aside, it was savage and _wrong_. Elder needed _help_.

_… and a good kick in the pants…_

Cloth and fur rustled nearby. I looked up curiously and watched as Master Splinter moved about the room. There was a hotplate in one corner that looked like it had been modified –probably Donatello. From on top of this hotplate Master Splinter picked up a kettle with steam wisping from the spout. The kettle itself looked vaguely oriental, more elegant than the portly English kettles my grandmother had a fondness for.  
Calm seemed to roll off of Master Splinter as he prepared two small cups of tea, this time I was sure I recognized the design of the cups as Japanese. Soon he returned to his previous seat. "Will you have some tea?" He offered.

"Yes, thank you." I didn't particularly like tea, but I'd trained myself to at least drink the stuff socially.

He handed me one of the cups and I took it. Hoping I didn't have my cultures mixed up I waited until he took a sip before drinking from my cup. As he drank Master Splinter seemed to savor the scent and steam of the tea.

The tea itself was, as usual, like drinking water from a bird feeder. I didn't care for the taste and I couldn't describe it if I tried other than it tasted of tea. Fortunately I was met a moment later with a refreshing cool taste, crisp and delicious. I smiled, "Mint."

He smiled and nodded, laughter lighting slightly in his eyes, the clever rat. We passed a few minutes in quite, sipping and thinking. Finally Master Splinter broke the silence. "You are angry with Dr. Elder." He said simply. No question, not a forceful statement, just like that.

I frowned slightly. "It's not right, he's sick. He probably doesn't even have a clue what he's doing is wrong."

"But you hold anger all the same."

I nodded, fighting the temptation to swirl the tea in my cup. "Yes sir." I muttered, a hint of shame creeping into my voice.

"There is no harm in this feeling. It is understandable. You must not give into this feeling, but you should not attempt to ignore it either. Anger is like fire, controlled it can do much good, unattended or abused and it will damage much."

I sighed, letting the air flow slowly through my nostrils. "It can also drive you to distraction if burns too hot or too cold or the wind keeps pushing it in the worst possible direction." It was funny. I could almost see my negative feelings at Dr. Elder like the campfires I make when camping. It seemed kind of puny now that I had it in a controlled and familiar environment.

"That helps to bring things into perspective though." I said.

He nodded, again smiling. I swear, I've never met a rat as smug as him… I've never met a rat that was mutated into a sentient being either so that might explain it…

After that our conversation was mainly small talk. He asked what I had thought of college, how large a family I came from, what the Rocky Mountains were like. I asked about Japan, raising quads, his reading preferences. It was pleasant. I'd forgotten how much I missed talking with someone who had real experience and wisdom, not just a pocket full of fool's dreams.

When the tea was gone I thanked him again and offered to clean up. He refused and walked me to the door of his study. "Miss Tammy." He said, the serious voice taking over, but not quite the same as last time. "What you are about to do is very noble, but I cannot deny it is fraught with danger." I frowned, I didn't like to think about that part, but it was undeniable… what was he getting at?

He placed his hand on my arm, "Tomorrow, whatever happens in that facility, do not hesitate to call for help or to leave."

Before I answered I had to pause and think. At my age I was fully aware that my self-preservation instinct probably wasn't as developed as it should be and the idea of leaving something important behind in favor of protecting myself left a bitter taste in my mouth. But it wouldn't help anyone if I got badly hurt or…

"I'll try." I told him. This answer didn't please him, but he didn't press further.

We left the room and were joined by the others. Thatch came over too. He seemed anxious, fretting over my leg and actually drooling on me… I'm going to miss him… I'll be back tomorrow evening but still…

One by one the guys said goodbye, each adding something along the lines of 'be careful' and 'call if anything happens'. Donnie actually took my shell cell and double checked it to make sure it hadn't died suddenly. He returned the phone and handed me a memory card as well, telling me it had a gig on it. When it was Quinn's turn I held up a finger, pointing it at her chest. "Sleep." I ordered. "or else." Yeah… I had no idea what 'or else' meant, but it was worth a shot.

Master Splinter nodded to me. I swallowed, it was like he was echoing every 'be careful' and 'call' I'd just been given.  
Leo led me out of the lair and through the sewers in silence. We came to a manhole several blocks from my apartment and climbed up to street level. In the alley he had me climb on his shell and hold on. I was careful not to put pressure on his throat as he quickly scaled the fire escape to the roof of a building, then started running over to my apartment.

Before long we both slipped through my window into my room. Quickly and silently Leo scouted my apartment, looking in small spaces and checking different surfaces as if he were looking for bugs or something. He frowned and double checked the chair I'd wedged against the door to keep the landlady out. "Doesn't the lock work?" He asked.

"The stick woman has a key." I explained.

"And the window?"

"I only leave it unlocked when turtles carry me out through it." I told him. Despite my effort he didn't smile.

"No bars… I'll ask Donnie to look into it." He noted.

Finally he turned to me. "I'm leaving now. We'll keep an eye on you when you're home but other than that you _have_ to have your shell cell with you." I nodded. He stepped closer and put a hand on my shoulder, making dead sure he had my attention. "I'm not kidding. Even if all you have is a gut feeling that something's about to happen, call us."

I didn't think he'd like the answer I gave Master Splinter so I just nodded again. Leo still didn't seem completely happy, but he couldn't exactly force an answer out of me. "Remember; do not open the door or window unless you _see_ one of us. If someone shows up I want to you stay out of sight and keep your shell cell in hand."

After that he left. I closed the window behind him and dropped the blinds.

A quick shower later I put out my things for the next day, cleaned my apartment even though it didn't need it and in general killed time till it was late enough for me to excuse going to bed. For several hours I just lay there with my arms crossed feeling very, very small. I found myself wishing I had a certain weight on the bed to cuddle with, even if he _did_ leave messes on the floor. Finally I managed to fall asleep, the shell cell clutched in my hand when I dropped off.


	41. Quinn dodges sleeping

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Forty-one; Quinn

* * *

I stared blankly at the ceiling.

I was bored. Bored out of my _mind_.

No training, no books that I wanted to read, and Mikey was hogging the TV with a one-player video game that he'd "been waiting all month to play."

Another few minutes of staring at the ceiling told me that no, this was not going to get any more interesting.

I picked myself off the bed and trudged downstairs. Maybe I could go bother Donnie. Although he was probably still mad at me. Oh, well. I walked into the lab anyway.

Donnie was busy, as it turned out. I realized this as I opened my mouth to greet him and saw that he had his headphones on, mouthpiece down. The fact that he was giving instructions on how to turn a computer on with a tone of thinly veiled impatience was also a pretty big tipoff. I felt sorry for the poor guy. Donnie should not have to waste his intellect on stupid stuff like this.

I crept past him to a corner of the lab where several large boxes sat.

The first one was all spare parts, little scraps of junk materials and funky doohickeys that kept me occupied for a little while (oh, the wonders of being easily amused), but after a few minutes I moved on to the second box. More odds and ends. Lovely.

The third box was the kicker. It was full of old computers. Laptops, mostly.

I couldn't help myself. I hooked one up and had it turned on before I could think twice about it.

As it turned out, the computer possessed only a few basic programs, mainly Microsoft Office and Solitaire, which I will admit to playing for a good half hour.

After that I wasn't really in the mood, nor did I have the energy to boot up the rest of the computers, so I turned that one off and searched for some other form of entertainment.

There was a ton of interesting stuff around the lab, probably all of which could've kept me busy for hours on end just figuring out what the heck they _did_. The problem was that I was afraid of breaking most of them, or pressing something I wasn't supposed to and ruining it that way.

And Donnie was still at work.

So I made a disappointed retreat to the living room and, seeing that the couch had been vacated, set myself to watching whatever was on TV.

I was a few hours in, and all was silent through the lair. Not a thing was stirring-not even a rat's hair-when I heard tiptoeing and the click of a door. I turned and saw Raphael standing on the second floor.

He met my eyes and froze.

I raised an eyebrow. "Busted," I whispered.

He put a finger to his lips and leapt over the railing, landing silently like a true ninja on the first floor.

"Why're you still up?" I asked quietly.

He raised an eye ridge in return. "Same goes to you."

"Couldn't get to sleep," I said simply. Or, rather, I didn't want to… Details, details. "You?"

His eyes shifted from left to right, and I suppressed a grin. This was going to be good.

"…I'm going out."

"Ah." Okay, that made sense. Raph went topside all the time.

"Don't tell Leo," he muttered, and this time a bit of the grin slipped through as a scheme came to mind.

"I won't," I said, and he visibly relaxed. "…On one condition." Tense again. "You have to take me with you."

He stared at me for a couple of seconds. "Are you _crazy_?"

"Completely." He kept staring. "…Kidding."

Raph shook his head. "No way."

I frowned. I wanted _out_, darnit! "Please? I won't do anything, I promise. I just want to tag along."

"No."

"Please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease_please_?" He took a step away. "I'll follow you anyway, you know." Step. "And I can sneak out on my own, too. Any time I want. Without any supervision once I leave." Pause. "Besides, I think Leo would be thrilled to hear you're sneaking out for late-night excursions topside."

He turned, scowling, and I knew I'd won. "Fine. But no talking, and no wandering off."

I nodded, grinning widely, and followed Raph out of the lair.

I kept my word and didn't say anything until we went topside and Raph led me to a shed. He pulled the doors open and there sat the Shell Cycle.

And holy _crap_ was the thing sleek.

I mean… as cool as it had looked in the cartoon and movie, this was just… It was like a tank crossed with a limo. Crossed with a pimpmobile. And the Batcycle.

I've never been a huge fan of motorcycles-probably because if I ever attempted to ride one, I'd kill myself in seconds-but I still had to take a moment to appreciate the contraption. Major props to Donnie for making the thing. Though I had a feeling Raph had done some of the bodywork. The flames were much more Raph than Don.

It then occurred to me that Raph had come here to ride the bike.

And he'd said I wasn't allowed out of his sight.

…No way. It couldn't be.

Could it?

"You okay with riding on this?"

No. Way.

I must've stared at Raph for a good thirty seconds before coming to and shutting my mouth. "Um. Yes. Please." With a cherry on top. A very manly cherry.

He tossed me a spare helmet and biker jacket, and I tugged it on carefully, trying not to squish my ears too much. I tucked my tail into my pants leg and presto! Instant normal person.

Raph straddled the bike like a pro. Which he was. "Get on behind me."

I inched cautiously towards the bike. I wasn't too sure about how safe the thing was, but Raph was the one driving and-oh, screw it.

I hopped on before I could change my mind and locked Raph in a death grip, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." As ready as I'd ever be.

The butterflies in my stomach increased tenfold as Raph revved the bike, and it died in my throat as we took off, the wind buffeting my helmet until I curled even closer to Raph, ducking my head onto his shoulder so I wouldn't have to look at the scenery rushing by at a nauseating pace. I focused on taking deep breaths.

After what seemed like hours, my stomach finally settled. I cautiously opened my eyes and found New York City staring back. An endless road banked by skyscrapers and lights. My stomach flopped again, but this time it was a good feeling, jittery excitement and adrenaline and nerves.

I smiled and squeezed Raph.

The ride was over all too soon when Raph pulled into the alley we'd originally come from.

"That was awesome," I murmured, still thrumming with the roar of the engine. My ears were slowly recovering from being bound.

Raph gave me that little headstrong smirk, the one I knew all the girls would be falling for if he was human. "Yer welcome."

"Thank you," I laughed.

It was a quiet but pleasant walk back to the lair, and I was grinning all the way, still swimming happily in the wake of the motorcycle ride. I was definitely coming along next time, too.

The lair was still asleep when we returned, and Raph waved good night before going back to the room he now shared with Mikey. I settled back into my place on the couch, starting up the RPG Mikey had tried to play with me during one of my first days in the lair.

This time I chose the knight. He got to ride around on a big horse.


	42. Tammy the spy

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Forty-two; Tammy

* * *

The trip to the clinic was uneventful… or at least, as uneventful as traveling through New York City can be during morning rush hour.

However, as soon as I ran into Dr. Elder his… um… eccentricity came out. He grabbed my face and closely examined the cut on my cheek. "The robbers from last Thursday, they did this?" He asked, sounding unusually strict. I managed to nod, trying not to feel like a fish the way he was holding my face. But a moment later he released my face and grabbed my arm, "And this? Did they do this too?"

I had to twist slightly to see the bruise he was indicating. Oh, that, the one from training. "That? I hit my arm on a chair this weekend."

"Are you sure?" He demanded sharply.

"Yes. It really hurt so I think I'd remember." Yes, I'm going to remember _that_ one for a while, that was for sure!

If his behavior had been odd before it went downright twilight zone when he suddenly invaded my space completely beyond acceptable standards.

He hugged me.

I stood there, stiff as a board and staring at the knot on his tie as he apologized. "My dear girl! I was so distraught last week I did not take notice that you were injured! The receptionist was kind enough to remind me that you alone were here when those awful criminals broke in!" I was still feeling horrified shock when he stepped back, but held me by my shoulders, which were still incredibly sore from the weekend's training and his reassuring grip was not helping matters. "If there is anything, _anything_ I can do!? Do you need antibiotics? Maybe fewer work hours every day? I promise I will pay you the fullest amount of worker's compensation that is due to you! Please, just let me know if there is anything that comes to your attention!"

The man couldn't have terrified me more if he'd cackled and strapped me to a surgical table to experiment on. "I…I…" Step away from the technician! "I'm fine Dr. Elder, really."

He rested his hand on my uncut cheek. Despite my trying to stay on his good side I knew I looked terrified and probably a little pained… and his hand was cold. "Are you sure? Anything, absolutely anything. You are more important to me than as merely an employee." Okay, going for the shell cell now, take me home guys!

Files.

Quinn and Thatcher.

I smiled, taking his hand from my face. "Really, Dr. Elder, I'm perfectly fine." Indicating my arm I added, "You can see I hurt myself more than those punks did. I'm really okay. You don't need to worry about worker's comp. or anything. Can I get to work now? I kind of missed the animals over the weekend."

He smiled at me with a grandfatherly affection that somehow made me want to vomit, no wonder he was giving Quinn nightmares. "That a girl." Okay, now I really wanted to puke, did we have Dramamine or something in one of the cabinets? Which anesthetics were antiemetic? I really should have studied harder in Pharmacology. "We'll jump right in today, so much to do." Ain't that the truth. "Especially since one of our clients made a special request."

Wait, what? Rewind and repeat! "Clients, Dr. Elder? I didn't realize we did non-research work here."

He nodded energetically, hurrying into the surgical wing and barely noticing that I was jogging to keep up. "For the most part yes, however, because the facility runs on private grants sometimes it is prudent to take small requests to ensure the continued funding of the program." So the facility ran on private grants, which made sense. Who supplied these grants though? How much money did Elder get? Enough for a raise maybe?

Okay, forget that last part; it was the student loans talking.

It turned out that this 'special favor' wasn't anything dramatic. Admittedly I never expected to treat koi in my career, but it wasn't overly exciting.

In one of the back rooms there were a half dozen tanks holding koi fish of different sizes. Dr. Elder showed me how to tag them, then instructed me to put a different tag on the fish in each tank. I also weighed the koi and carefully took blood samples. After recording all the information I'd gathered on the paperwork provided I fed the fish something from a bag labeled with Japanese lettering and a large twin version of one of the larger fish.

I left the room with all the fish and changed into a dry scrub top before I went to ask Dr. Elder about the rest of my duties for the day. Although I approached his office cautiously he smiled when he saw me and greeted me warmly. "Ah! Tammy, are you done with the Koi?" He asked pleasantly.

I nodded. "Yeah… they're piggy little fish."

He nodded and pulled open a drawer in his desk. "Yes, all carp have voracious appetites. Due to their size and speed of growth they have a higher metabolism…" As he explained everything he knew about koi fish he dug around in his desk for a few minutes. I glanced around his office.

Alice in Wonderland and The Hobbit were both out of sight, but fortunately he didn't have anything else out. I swallowed, wondering if I should find a chance to search his bookshelves later. Then again, how would I recognize the devious potential of a simple storybook?

"Aha!" He finally pulled a sheet of paper out of the drawer. "The night watchman reported that the dogs in cage two were scratching a lot. Would you mind checking them over and looking for potential causes of puritis?" He smiled, "I'm sure you know that you have permission to do anything you can think of." He assured me.

_Anything? I'm afraid of exactly what you mean by that._

I smiled back and took the paper. "I'll examine them and take some skin scrapings." I said. "I'll also check their records to see if baths are in order." He laughed as I left, but the moment my back turned I felt my smile slide right off.

For the first time in my life I was learning what the alternative was to 'have your cake and eat it too'.

My cake was having met the coolest and most fun bunch I'd never thought could exist, even without the mutant factor. I was learning ninjitsu and loving every moment of it. Even at this very moment there was a little creature that I knew would run to greet me the moment I stepped through the door. To make things even better I had my dream job, I was working with animals and pretty much in charge of a facility with the freedom to do whatever I wanted without bothering with other technicians or a veterinarian placing too many restraints on me. It was wonderful, like a perfect dream.

And I had a moral and professional duty to do everything in my power to destroy it. I could even deal with the creepy boss thing if it hadn't been actual and dangerous insanity.

"This sucks." I grumbled as I headed for the kennels.

The dogs were definitely itchy. I nearly got my hands torn up trying to give them the exam because they kept trying to scratch. Adding to the difficulty was a slight shake I seemed to have picked up, which made gathering blood and skin samples hazardous to myself, the dogs, and the kennel guy I'd called in to help me.

I didn't find any unusual skin problems or fleas, so I took samples from the dogs and set them up for different tests. Once I'd returned the dogs to the kennel I washed my hand and sat down at the computer. First I entered in the information I'd just gathered on the dogs and then entered the supplies I used for inventory. Glancing over my shoulder, I reached into my pants pocket, past the shell cell to where the memory card was. Quickly I slipped it into the computer and called up the files on Quinn and Thatcher. Once those were in downloaded I clicked over to finances. I scanned through for any information on where Dr. Elder's grants were coming from.

"Nothing… nothing… nothing… drat!" The information on where the money came from was listed only as numeric deposits, no other information. I'd have to look elsewhere for something useful. I grimaced and started backing out of the files on the computer. Tonight I'd go over the medical files in depth to learn what I needed to know.

Just before I clicked out of Thatcher's file I glanced at the information for where he'd come from. Turns out he'd been rescued from a shelter nearby. I exited the file and glanced at the same location on Quinn's file.

_Fell down the Rabbit Hole._

I blinked… then I blinked again. "Hahn?"

What the heck did that mean?

Quickly I backed out of the file and closed the programs I'd been using, then took the memory card out and pocketed it. "The rabbit hole." I muttered as I started back to the kennels. "Crazy talk… or is it?" I bit my lip. Undoubtedly Dr. Elder was insane, but he was also brilliant. Could that bizarre little phrase have any meaning besides the Wonderland theme he'd stuck on Quinn?

Nothing made sense right now, but what did I expect? The man was _insane_.

I stopped in the doorway of the kennels, listening to the dogs barking. A hedgehog was scurrying across the floor looking very businesslike on his way to do whatever he was doing. It no longer amazed me that Dr. Elder let most of the animals run loose. I enjoyed seeing them wander around, but now that I knew it was probably another sign of his mental instability it was bittersweet watching as the two lovebirds flew in and out of the kennels.

Shaking my head, I turned and headed for the kennel with the itchy dogs so as to start giving them baths. Suddenly the rubber soles of my shoes slipped on the non-slip flooring. I hit the ground painfully, jarring every muscle in my body.

"Ouch." I whined. I lifted my hand from the floor and discovered a yellow liquid to be the cause of my spill. "Perfect." Despite my situation I started to giggle. If only Leo could have seen me now, at least I knew _some_ of my training was sticking; I fell right!


	43. Quinn and Donnie is yay

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Forty-three; Quinn

* * *

"Hernando! But my darling, I thought you were in a coma!"

"Nothing can keep me from you, Mary-Elizabeth."

"Kiss me."

I stared blandly at the cheesy soap and continued to the next channel.

Hey, _Angel_ was on TNT! Awesome. I was set for the next two hours. I'd have a good two hours of _Charmed_ after that, too, actually. I was good until everyone woke up. At least.

There was movement behind me before I expected it. Angel wasn't even over yet.

"So, where were you?"

I froze, finger automatically pressing the mute button on the remote. "Huh?"

"Your hair says you went topside," Donnie said. I was pretty sure his arms were crossed.

"And you pay enough attention to my hair to notice this?" I asked, turning to give Donnie a raised-eyebrow look. And sure enough, his arms were crossed.

He looked flustered for a moment, but quickly recovered. Darn. "You didn't answer my question."

"The hair lies," I said, trying to maintain sarcasm while under fire from Donnie' analytical gaze. My heart was hammering out of my chest. And not just because Donnie was dangerously close to finding out about Raph's and my late-night excursion.

"You were either wearing a hat or Raph's motorcycle helmet," Donnie said, raising an eye-ridge.

"Motorcycle helmet?" I just barely passed it off as a question. My voice was getting disastrously squeaky, and my face was heating up. Not good.

"Raph takes rides on his motorcycle at night."

"Um. How do you know?"

"I followed him once."

"Well, that's…awfully sneaky of you."

Donnie frowned. "I just want to know if you went out with Raph."

"I didn't." It was just one more little lie atop the mountainous pile I was amassing. No harm done. Right?

Don's expression told me otherwise. He wanted the truth and he wanted it now.

Well, at least he'd already known about Raph's nightly visits to the streets of NYC. Raph couldn't kill me for spilling if Don had already known.

"…Okay. I did." I braced myself, but he just sighed and pinched his nose…area…with two green fingers in a very human gesture. I swear, I'd think the guys were totally normal people if not for the green skin, shells, lack of nostrils and eyebrows, huge mouths, lack of canines…okay, never mind.

"Quinn. It isn't safe for you to go out. Topside. Anywhere but here. The Foot might try to take you. Or follow you back here and compromise our location. Or you could run into Bishop, or…" He stopped, and his expression made me realize that he'd realized that he'd said too much.

"Bishop?" I asked, trying to mask fear with curiosity. Fearful curiosity. I like to think it worked out pretty well.

"He's an old…um, opponent of ours," he was watching me carefully. Probably hoping I wouldn't have a panic attack or something. I am _not_ made of glass, Donnie.

"And he's in town?" My turn to be careful.

"Maybe. I don't know. It's just…after living live we have, like we are, for so long, you get a little paranoid."

He looked drained. I wanted to hug the poor guy. For a very long time.

When I realized that we'd just been staring at each other for a long time, I rushed to rectify the situation.

"_Angel_'s on," I said, gesturing to the now-muted show. "Sit?" I patted the cushion next to me.

Don gave me an odd look before walking around the couch to sit next to me.

I'm not going to lie, it took a lot of willpower to keep from entangling my fingers in his and resting my head on his shoulder. But I did it.

Of course, then the episode turned out to be the one with the guy who can disconnect pieces of his body, and I felt queasy and before I knew it I was pressed up against Donnie's side, trying not to toss my cookies. I mean, the guy's _eye_ had just _fallen out_. Ugh.

Don yawned at some point. And then his arm was behind me. And I was trying not to hyperventilate as Charmed came on. Because Donnie had just used the oldest trick in the book. On. _Me_.

I went over the situation in my head: I was currently curled up against Don's side, and kind of overlapping his plastron too. And his arm was around me. On the couch, but still. Around. Me.

Don't read into it, Quinn. He's just comforting you because you felt like hurling after _Angel_.

And besides, this isn't exactly the greatest time. You're dangerously close to spilling your secret as it is. Don't. Blow. It.

…And now I felt guilty about basically cuddling with Don on the couch. Great.

But I couldn't just pull away, that would be awkward. And besides, it was actually pretty comfy on there. Really comfy, as a matter of fact. It had taken a little wiggling to avoid my back-wound pressing against the edge of his plastron, but it was worth it. Utterly, completely worth it.

I closed my eyes and drifted.


	44. Tammy meets fear

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Forty-four; Tammy

* * *

I frowned at the X-ray. Mentally calculating the actual size of the snake compared to the image on the x-ray image and the smaller skeleton on the image back to actual size. I'm not sure but either the snake had dined on the missing hooded rat, or that was the biggest gerbil I'd ever seen x-rayed.

After making sure the image was clear enough I left the radiology room and returned to where the chemistry equipment was with the intention of looking at the samples I'd taken from the dogs and seeing if anything interesting came up.

"Tammy!" Dr. Elders addressed me enthusiastically as he came over to where I was. He then turned quickly to his companion. "This is Morikan Akane, he's here representing one of our major investors." The man was almost a head shorter than Dr. Elder, although he still had about an inch on me. His black hair was neatly trimmed in a business style. "Mr. Morikan, this is my technician, Tammy."

Mr. Morikan held his hand out stiffly and I shook it. His grip was too loose, but more like he was holding back than the dead fish grip I got from some people. I was used to handshakes of all kinds, but this one was new to me and for some reason put me on guard. "Nice to meet you." I said automatically.

"Likewise." The man said in a formal tenor voice.

"Good, now, have you set up those x-rays?" Dr. Elder asked.

I nodded. "They're all ready for you."

"Good! This gentleman wants to ask you a few questions." He turned to the business man. "I'll be in my office shortly. Don't scare my technician off okay?" With that he cheerfully headed off to the radiology room. I swear I hear him whistle a few chipper notes.

Turning to the man I politely asked, "Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Morikan?"

The man frowned at me and suddenly I felt like I was under the spotlight. Several seconds passed where he just stared at me, making me feel more and more uncomfortable until my gut twisted and my skin felt as if a cold breeze were passing right through my clothes. "Is there something you'd like to ask me?" I tried again.

Something brushed against my face and I flinched, only just realizing he'd moved his hand. I tried to step back but didn't realize how close I was to the counter and just ended up kicking one of the cabinet doors. "What are you doing?!" I demanded.

"You are injured." He stated simply.

I flushed, more angry than anything. "I don't care who you are; what gives you the right to touch me like that!!?"

He stepped back, though clearly not intimidated or embarrassed. "My apologies but as I said, you are injured."

"It's my face!" I snapped. "I think I've noticed." Breathing slowly to try and control my temper I managed, "Is there something _related to the clinic_ I can help you with?" That didn't come out completely right, I was practically growling at him, but he touched my _face_!

Again he stepped back, still staring at me. Finally Morikan answered, "No." and turned toward Dr. Elder's office.

After he'd left I stood there for several seconds, gripping the counter behind me to keep my hands from shaking.

Turning around, I forced myself to focus. Work the microscope. Examine the skin scrapings. Write my findings. Look at the blood smears. Count blood cells. Record the information. Dispose of the slides. Repeat.

I felt like I was back in Freshman year running my CBC for finals.

Dr. Elder was insane, even when I'd first met him I'd felt uneasy in the way I always felt when around people of severe mental or emotional instability.

_Pick up the slide, put it on the stage, apply the oil, lower the lens._

I've spent a lot of time trying to override that emotion because it could interfere with my work, but my instincts were hardly ever wrong.

_Use the large handle to adjust the focus until you can just see the purple layer._

Discovering positively that Dr. Elder was insane, and how badly, made dealing with him a thousand times worse to the point of nausea and even being a little scared.

_Make fine adjustments, just the slightest movements,_

But I'd never felt physically threatened by him…

_This lens is actually in contact with the slide so be extra careful if the slide is moved too far then something will…_

Not like I did around Mr. Morikan.

The hairs on the back of my neck stiffened just moments before my entire vision seemed to shatter and I jumped back, startled.

Slowly I stepped forward and looked under the lens, the slide was ruined, shattered and bits of glass were everywhere. Muttering dark threats to myself, I hurriedly cleaned the microscope and set up the next slide. Much to my relief the lens was still in perfectly functioning order. A slide cost ten cents; a new lens could cost hundreds of dollars.

Thinking practically, I knew my relief over the lens would be short lived. I used this good feeling to clean up the countertop and put the files next to the computer to be entered when I was ready. By the time the full force of my negative feelings was coming back again I was sliding the deadbolt home on the ladies' bathroom.

For some reason the bathroom felt safe, private, protected. I sat on the toilet seat and took a deep breath, soaking in the clean, cold air. After letting myself relax a few minutes I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out the shell cell.

Staring at the thing, I recalled the incident with Mr. Morison.

He'd touched my face. Not just any part randomly, nor the thin cut on my cheek, but he'd actually touched right next to the small bandage still on my jaw. It could be a coincidence, but even before he touched me I'd been starting to feel scared. Even now my stomach had that hollow feeling like I'd just thrown up and I could see my skin prickling against the cold sensation running through my blood. In the silence of the bathroom my pulse was loud and hot in my neck, making me want to press my cold hands against my throat protectively.

Recognizing the symptoms of my fear only made them worse, causing a tremor to pass through me from time to time. I had to get myself under control.

My thumb pushed the phone open.

The guys said call. Leo had even told me to call if it was a gut feeling. This wasn't a gut feeling, this was an everywhere feeling. It just kept getting more intense and overwhelming. In less than an hour I could be back at the lair, cuddling Thatch and just soaking in the warm, safe feeling I got down there. I had Quinn and Thatch's files, I could get the rest another day.

I dialed the number and held it up to my ear, listening as it rang.

"_Hello?_"

"Daddy?"

"_Honey, are you alright?_"

"Just feeling a little homesick, New York suddenly feels a long ways from home…" I told him as the tears started coming.

I just needed to hear his voice. Let Mom talk at me for a little while.

After that I'd wash my face and get back to work.

There was still a lot to be done.


	45. Quinn and Don fluffiness

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Forty-five; Quinn

* * *

I came to to the sound of a door closing, and the smell and sound of the people entering told me Leo was back with Tammy. Hmm. I hadn't heard him leave. And Tammy shouldn't be back for a good few hours.

It wasn't until I tried to move that I discovered just how tired I was. Just lifting a finger was a huge task. After a few seconds I gave up and just lay there.

Slowly, very very slowly, I became aware of a weight on my shoulders, and another on the top of my head. And then I realized I wasn't lying down, I was in a sitting position on something that felt very much like a couch. Leaning against something that smelled very much like Don.

Fudge.

I opened my eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the sudden brightness of the lair, and looked carefully up at Donnie, trying not to move my head too much or too quickly. He was still asleep. I wondered if I should wake him or not.

But it was really comfy on his shoulder, and it was warm and I was still tired and-

"Well well, what have we here?"

I groaned. "G'way, Mikey." I don't think any of what I said was particularly distinguishable, but the hyperactive ninja would've no doubt stayed to pester Don and I anyway.

"What is it?" Leo's voice was coming from the kitchen. He walked over and I could hear Mikey bouncing with glee.

"What's everybody staring at?" Tammy was walking over. Great. Take a picture, folks. It'll last longer. As much as I wished to the contrary.

But no. The three of them were still talking, and eventually I decided enough was enough.

1…2…3…Go!

I sluggishly shifted out from under Don's weight, turning my head to glare at the three intruders. "Stop."

And that was it. I was done; my energy had been entirely depleted.

"Hmm?" No, Don! Stay asleep! "What's going on?"

…Damn.

Well. There was no point in trying to stay asleep now, was there?

Especially when Donnie took his arm off my shoulders. Now they felt really cold.

Mikey looked like he'd just won the lottery. And gotten a puppy for Christmas. On his birthday.

"It's not what you think," I said tired, starting to feel cross.

Leo folded his arms. Ohh boy. Here we go.

But Don interrupted him before he could start up on his ramble, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Leo. Now isn't the time. Do you realize what just happened?"

"I know that you-" Aaaand cut off again. I love you, Donnie.

"Quinn just slept through a full four hours without waking up from nightmares."

I'm pretty sure my jaw had turned boneless at that point. Don was right, I'd gotten some sleep without having a single nightmare of…a certain someone. This was huge.

The next thing I knew, my cheeks hurt from smiling and I had Don bowled over in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thankyouthankyou_thankyou_!" I squealed, burrowing into his shoulder.

"But I didn't do anything," Don said. I pulled back and stepped onto the floor, grinning at him.

"Still, though!"

He stood up from the couch, and I hugged him again.

There was a cough from the other side of the couch.

"I'll just…go make pancakes," Tammy said, escaping to the kitchen. Mikey rushed off to help Tammy, and Leo disappeared into the dojo.

I released Donnie. "Seriously, though," I said, pulling my face into a serious expression, "thank you. I'm pretty sure it was because of you that I didn't have nightmares." I grinned. "And now maybe it'll stay like that!"

Don smiled faintly. His face was an odd color. Was he _blushing_?

No, that couldn't be. I was imagining things.

I shot one last smile his way before going into the kitchen to see if I could help with breakfast.

I quickly learned we were making chocolate chip pancakes, and proceeded to thank Tammy profusely. It was awesome having another chocoholic around. At least, I hoped she was.

Donny set to making a pot of coffee, and I tried not to concentrate too hard on his presence as I separated the eggs.


	46. Tammy's last distractions

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom... let's hope they do the guys justice.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Forty-six; Tammy

* * *

"I got it." Raph grunted, taking the plates from my hands.

"But… I…" I tried to argue, no such luck.

Raph grabbed another plate and added it to the stack before kicking Mikey's chair, knocking it over even though Mikey was still in it. "You're washin' knucklehead." Raph ordered. Mikey whined as he stood from the floor but did as he was told.

Leo looked between Quinn and me. I noticed he also exchanged glances with Donnie, but I missed the intent. "How about a little light training?" Leo suggested. "I discussed it with Master Splinter and he believes that it would be useful for you two to start learning the shuriken."

Quinn perked up. "Shuriken? You mean like throwing stars and kunai and stuff?"

"More like hand thrown darts. You two are a little ways from kunai and it's better to improve your aim before starting with the stars." Donnie corrected.

I nodded. "Sounds good." If Raph wasn't going to let me wash the dishes at least I had one more distraction before the inevitable came and I couldn't put off looking at the files anymore.

Thatcher had been following me since I'd gotten home and when he saw I was headed with the others to the targets he whimpered slightly, associating the area with the 'fighting' the guys did while training. I wanted him to stay in the kitchen or something, but he absolutely refused. Fortunately Leo assured me that he probably wouldn't get hurt and could come with us.

While Leo lead the way to the targets Donnie hurried to the armory and came back a few minutes later with something wrapped in cloth. That something turned out to be several sets of metal chopsticks, the ends of which were sharpened considerably. Leo picked up a set, absently showing off with them as he explained, "These are… well, just what they look like, chopsticks, but they make for an effective bo shuriken. It takes a lot of practice to get your reflexes right, but eventually you can turn this into an effective weapon."

"Ouch." I murmured unconsciously as I eyed the sticks. They were just the length of the chopsticks that had come with the Chinese food the other night and by the looks of it they had a pretty good weight to them. Too much TV and Anatomy provided my mind readily enough with what a simple weapon like that could do… simple, but potentially deadly if used right.

"Exactly." Leo said, agreeing with my comment. "I prefer to use these as a signal myself, but if I need to use them they can provide a valuable asset." Beside me Quinn made an impressed noise. I swallowed, for the first time since my training had begun I felt myself combating my medical instincts.

Leo handed Quinn and I both a chopstick and demonstrated how to find the balance and hold the things. He then had us move to different targets before demonstrating how to throw. "Remember, you don't want the shuriken to flip or spin too much, and try to line up your shots." He demonstrated then watched us. Quinn and I tried our best to get it right, but even though we were just a foot or two away from our targets the chopsticks barely stuck. Leo was patient, correcting our movements until both of us could throw the bo shuriken with reasonable force. Finally he drew a line down both of our targets and handed us more chopsticks, "Try to line up your throw along this line." He instructed.

We did as we were instructed. Although we were standing so close to the target it was difficult to get the chopsticks to line up and releasing them at the right point was also difficult. Quinn kept muttering something under her breath, sounding a little frustrated since her chopsticks weren't hitting any better than mine.

I focused more intently on the line, then a single hole from the first time I actually hit it. After several tries I managed to get a chopstick nearly exactly in that little hole. Then I focused my attention on lining two up. It took a while and it was definitely hard trying not to get frustrated, but after almost half an hour of practice I got the four shuriken to line up on the target. "Good job." Leo praised lightly, "Keep practicing like that until you can hit the target regularly and quickly.

Quinn growled, actually growled. I blinked and looked over to her target where the chopsticks were has practically shredded the target. At least this proved she was faster than me, even if her aim needed a touch more work. Leo chuckled slightly. "You're trying to learn this the same way Raph did." He told Quinn.

"What do you mean?" She asked, sounding irritated.

"Try this." Leo took the same marker he'd drawn a line on the targets with and drew another little target closer to the side –where the chopsticks hadn't done as much damage. He drew a quick circle about the size of a golf ball, then made a small dot in the middle of the circle. "Aim for that dot, ignore the circle, aim for the dot." He instructed. Quinn lined herself up with this new target and gave it the evil eye.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Three of the chopsticks struck just within the circle, the fourth had lodged well outside the zone Leo had drawn. "If you focus on the object as a whole and not the target point you're probably going to miss." Leo explained. "Focus is the key." Just then his own focus was ruined when a crash and a yelp came from the kitchen. "Um… keep practicing that, I'll be right back." He advised quickly before jogging off to do damage control.

Quinn smirked before turning back to her target and pulling out the chopsticks. Unlike me she actually had to grab the sticks before pulling them out, half of mine fell out before I could touch them. "You're pretty good at this." I couldn't help but compliment.

"Yeah," Quinn scoffed, "I'm awesome."

I couldn't help but tisk slightly, self derision bugged me when other people did it. Taking the marker Leo had used I drew a similar, if slightly lopsided, circle on my target. After throwing my four darts I asked Quinn to use the same target. She gave me a suspicious look but after a little insisting and a mild threat I managed to convince her.

Reluctantly Quinn stepped in front of the target, aimed, and threw her chopsticks. Either she was distracted by my chopsticks or disgruntled or just not trying hard enough I don't know, but not a single one landed inside the circle. "What'd I tell you? Mad skills." Quinn sounded like she wanted to put herself in a corner without supper or something. Instead of answering her I drew a rough outline of a human form on the target, the circle being located just where the collar bones would usually meet.

"Okay, now look at this and tell me, who did more damage?" Of my four darts none of them had penetrated more than a half inch and one of them while it had struck the target it now lay on the floor. Quinn's chopsticks ranged between four to six inches per target. Her aim needed some help, but that was nothing compared to the guy with the chopsticks buried in his throat and chest. I tapped one that was buried deep right above the' heart'. "This one's a kill shot." I told her. "Hospital in under five minutes or he's dead kind of thing."

Quinn blinked, "Okay, that's actually pretty cool." A grin spread over her face. "Thanks for that."

I blushed slightly, trying to shrug it off but glad that my little demonstration had gotten my point across. "Um… no problem. Just, no more putting yourself down… you're really good at this stuff."

Again Quinn blinked but before she could react one way or another Leo joined us again looking worried. He seemed about to say something when the target caught his attention. I followed his gaze and cringed as another of my chopsticks fell off and hit the floor with a clatter. "We'll have to work on that." He noted calmly. "But for now I think that's enough."

"But-"

"Couldn't we-"

Quinn and I were both silenced by a stern 'leader' look. "Quinn, you've only had four hours of sleep, don't think I don't know about last night." That meant she was awake the night before? She earned the worst glare I could muster, and trust me, I can muster up a mean glare. "And Tammy has been working all day and will probably insist on going back tomorrow." Okay, enough glaring. Now Quinn was giving me a look that was a interesting combination of; 'Ha! You got told off too!' and 'you boss is a fruit-loop, you do know that?'

Leo started collecting the chopsticks and wrapped them up in the little cloth case they came in. He handed the roll to Quinn. "I'll show you where these go so you can practice later on your own time if you want." He said, looking up at me he added, "Donnie wants you to go to the lab when you get some time."

Suddenly the pleasant warmth that I'd gotten from the light training drained from my body and took every last degree of spare heat with it. Every ache and stiffness I'd picked up since coming to this city seemed exaggerated and exhaustion weighed down like a lead weight.

Catching Quinn and Don together, warm pancakes, fun training, everything good about this afternoon had been had at the expense of promptly doing what I should have been doing.

I nodded to Leo, smiling slightly. "I'll head right over." I said before turning and doing just that. One hand slid into my pocket, brushing the shell cell gently before slowly closing on the memory device.

_I don't want to do this._

_Calm down, don't think about it too much._

_I don't want to do this._

_Professional detachment, you're a master at that, remember?_

_I don't want to do this…_


	47. Quinn's buzzkill

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom... let's hope they do the guys justice.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Forty-seven; Quinn

* * *

I watched as Tammy walked grimly to Donnie's lab, the smile wiped from her face. I felt horrible for her, especially since I had a pretty good idea of what she was going to do.

Then again, she was getting Donnie Time. Bah. I went back into the training room to chuck more chopsticks, aiming for different body parts on the outline Tammy had drawn of the human body. My fingers were sore by the time I'd gotten bored with it.

The punching bag drew my attention after that, and I hunted down the leather strips for my hands, wrapping them around my hands the right way this time before slamming my fist into the punching bag.

"Hey, hold on a sec."

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Stupid ninja.

Raph moved up behind me and reached around to my front, grabbing my wrist.

"You're using your knuckles," he said.

…Oh.

"Turn your fist more. Hit with the full front of your fist."

I tried again, and this time it hurt significantly less.

"Thanks," I murmured, feeling sheepish. Jeez, that had been elementary. Come _on_, Quinn. Common sense. It's gotta be in there somewhere.

"No problem. Hey, you should run through the kata, too."

…Kata?

My confusion must've showed, because Raph quickly provided a definition of the word.

"It's the routine for the tekko I showed you."

I flushed-I'd been calling it a tana, hadn't I?-before brightening considerably. "Really? I mean, I'm allowed?"

Raph shrugged. "Sure. If you think you're up to it."

I grinned. "Oh, I'm up to it." Truthfully, my palms were a little sore, but my back was feeling almost perfectly fine, and I figured that was the area of greatest concern. Besides, no pain, no gain, right?

"Follow my lead."

He ran through the exercise once with me, going over each step in the kata until I had each one down pat. After that he went off to the side to get a little boxing time of his own in while I went over the kata again. And again. And again. Until the whole thing, movements and gestures and just the right way to swing this that way to cut a path through there and punch forward here was ingrained into my memory.

I wore out pretty quickly, which annoyed me. You'd think my endurance would've increased at least a little, but instead I just got sore even faster.

I sulked on my way out of the dojo. Tammy was still nowhere to be found. Donnie wasn't either, for that matter, which lead me to wonder exactly how much info they had to go through down there. Or maybe they were just into a long biology-talk now, who knew.

There was music streaming from upstairs, and when I followed it to the source I saw Mikey lying on the floor, drawing on a page. The door was ajar, but I knocked before fully entering.

Mikey glanced up and broke into a grin as he saw me, waving me into the room. I sat down next to him and took a closer look at the piece of paper surrounding him. They were all drawings, some detailed, others scribbles, and a few were cartons and caricatures. I saw a lot of women among the scribbles (hello, surprisingly-adult-minded-Mikey), and a lot of the comics involved his brothers. I picked up a comic strip, one telling the brief and utterly hilarious rendition of a fight between Raph and Leo. Mikey looked pleased when I chuckled.

I dug up a blank piece of paper and a pencil and held them up in front of his face, mouthing "do you mind" under the beat-heavy music-it would have drowned out any actual talking on my part, anyways.

Mikey mouthed the words "go ahead" and I grinned, nodding my thanks before settling down to start doodling on the sheet of paper. I drew faces, heads and eyes, as usual, with a few vague body shapes and failures in anatomy for good measure.

Eventually I peeked over Mikey's shoulder to see what he had been working on so furiously; he had been working on the same sheet for the entire time I'd been in there.

Mikey caught me trying to peek and grinned, showing me the paper.

It was a picture of all of us. Tammy, me, Thatcher, the turtles, Splinter, and April and Casey. Even Klunk. And hey, there was Leatherhead in the background.

I stared at the picture for a while. I noticed subtle little things he'd worked in, like the expressions and postures. April and Casey were on the far right, leaning against each other, smiling and looking happy as sunbathing cats. Raph had his arms crossed over his plastron, grinning cockily while Leo had a "Zen Zen Zen Zen ignore Raph Zen Zen Zen" expression. Mikey was, of course, beaming and throwing a piece sign from his place sitting on the floor with Klunk and Tammy, who in turn had her arm around a drooling Thatcher. Donnie had one of his little geeky smiles on, and Leatherhead looked stoic but I think I may have seen a hint of a smile in there somewhere. Splinter stood off to the far left, wearing a calm and peaceful but quietly proud expression.

"You like it?"

"I love it," I breathed, beaming at him. "Mikey, this is _amazing_."

"Thanks," he grinned. "It's not finished, I still have to color and ink it. But when I do finish…" He raised his eyebrows. "You want it?"

My jaw dropped. "Oh, no, Mikey. Seriously?"

"Do you?"

"_Yes_," I sputtered. "Thank you, Mikey. So much." He smiled and I reached over and hugged him. "Really, Mikey. This means a _lot_. You have no idea." I pulled away. "You're an amazing artist, Mikey."

"Thanks." His eyes twinkled, and I couldn't stop grinning.

There was a knock at the door, and it opened seconds later to let Raph in.

"Hey, you two. Meeting in the dojo. Splinter wants us all there."

We nodded, and I set down the picture before running out after Mikey. We slowed to a crawl after seeing Donnie and Tammy's faces.

This was not good.


	48. Tammy reports

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom... let's hope they do the guys justice.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

Please note that From now on I will be updating weekly rather than biweekly.

* * *

Chapter Forty-eight; Tammy

* * *

How was it possible?

This science, all of it, was supposed to be impossible. Completely and totally impossible. The synthesizing process alone was more than fifty years of development for simple organelles alone, not to mention a fully grown and functional organism. Even the most basic of the procedures Elder had used were barely in the experimental stage in vitro, forget running it in full capacity in vivo. This simply wasn't possible, it went against everything I knew on the medical level, biological, technological, physical, psychological… I know I'm no doctor, but I know what is and isn't possible.

The only thing that made sense from all this was what scared me the most.

Dr. Elder.

He was brilliant beyond measure, there was no stopping him. He could do anything, anything. The only thing putting limits on what he did do was the mirror of genius; insanity. If his brilliance was beyond anything I'd previously thought possible his illness couldn't be far behind.

"Are you alright? You don't look so good." I looked up from the depths of what I'd been pondering. Donatello was close by looking concerned. Not far behind him Leo was making sure there was a trashcan within arm's reach and that I knew it. Good, I'd probably need it if my stomach didn't settle. When we'd started looking over the files I'd expected to be horrified of course. But what Donatello and I had discovered was so far beyond what we'd expected I felt part of my mind trying to reject it, tuck the records away in the same part of my mind that stored silly fiction.

The part of my mind fighting to keep this new perception of reality in perspective took a hit when Quinn stepped into the dojo followed closely by Michelangelo and Raphael.

_See? It's not possible. Quinn is standing right in front of you. She definitely doesn't look normal, but there's no way she's a-_

**Shut-Up!**

Quinn came in and sat down next to Donnie on the other side from me. My other side was taken up by Leo and Mikey took Quinn's free side. Raph sat next to Leo.

The entire time I'd been lost in thought and while everyone settled themselves Master Splinter sat quietly in front of us with his eyes closed, probably meditating or something. Once everyone settled down he opened his eyes and looked pointedly at Donnie and me.

Taking the printouts from Donnie I looked through the notes I'd collected. It was kind of hard, but I forced myself to pretend I was giving a school presentation, not telling someone I'd begun to consider a friend that she was… that.

"First thing, Quinn and Thatcher did not undergo the same procedure." I began. "Thatcher started as a regular –if large- puppy. He was legally taken from a local shelter and altered using a combination of retroviral genetic manipulation, chemical controls and surgical alterations." Looking up I repeated for the guys' memory and Quinn's sake, "Like a paper doll. Cut, glue, paint."

I shifted through the papers and swallowed, my mouth felt so dry it almost hurt. "K-" I had to swallow again. "Quinn was the result of a different procedure… entirely." I paused, not sure where to go from there.

Donnie took over. "Thatcher's procedure took place overnight, more or less. Quinn's records cover a period of more than a month. No surgical procedures were used because unlike Thatcher Quinn was…" wait… he's stopping too? Don had stiffened, not wanting to say anything that might insult or scare anyone.

The other turtles and Quinn herself were growing increasingly antsy. "I was what?" Quinn demanded, clearly sick of waiting, but not in a way that said she really wanted to know.

"Being tactful isn't helping." I muttered at the floor before looking up and looking Quinn in the eye. "Quinn, you are a clone. Dr. Elder used the genetic information of some random human girl's DNA taken from an appendectomy and mixed it with many physical characteristics of a female domestic cat as well as a few color genomes from avian and amphibious creatures to gain that unusual coloring and pattern."

I stopped, feeling the shame I'd known would come after I'd blurted it out. I flinched, but refused to look down before I'd finished. "The only thing that doesn't fit is why you are you… memories, opinions… your entire personality." At this point it was almost physically painful to keep my head up, I wanted to look away, hide, take Thatch and run back to Wyoming. Instead I pressed on. "Quinn, what... what do you remember before you woke up in Elder's lab?"


	49. Quinn finally confesses

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom... let's hope they do the guys justice.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

Please note that From now on I will be updating weekly rather than biweekly.

* * *

Chapter Forty-nine; Quinn

* * *

I stared at them. Just stared.

Yes, I was surprised. Of course I was. But she'd asked a question I wasn't sure I could answer without giving away…stuff. Stuff that they probably shouldn't know.

…Although, now that I thought about it, they could actually benefit from my fangirl knowledge. Right? It could be helpful. Hopefully.

I took a deep breath and began. And when I mean began, I mean _began_. From the _very_ beginning.

"Okay. So I was born in Pennsylvania…"

I'm pretty sure I rambled. I think Splinter's eyes may have glazed over at some point. But I know for a fact that everyone woke up when I told them about one thing in particular.

"And when I was in my preteens, I started getting really into…the TMNT." I paused. "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

The room froze, and I blundered forward.

"It's a popular franchise where I come from. It started in the eighties as a comic book, and since then it's grown into a huge thing. I'm talking movies, cartoons, toys, video games. Even _food_."

Pause. Breathe in. Out.

"The whole thing revolves around, well, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo."

I was looking resolutely at the tatami mat floor now.

"Leonardo is the leader, and he uses katana. His signature color is blue. Donatello uses a bō, and he's the pacifist and a genius. His color is purple. Michelangelo is the joker and he uses nunchuks. He's orange. And Raphael is red, the strong hothead. He uses sai. Their adoptive father is Master Splinter, a rat who was mutated by the same green ooze he found them in as babies after the boy who initially owned them dropped them into the sewers.

"He raised them as ninja using the skills he'd picked up from his own master from when he was a pet rat, before his master was killed by the Shredder. The turtles also made friends with a local reporter, April O'Neil, and a vigilante, Casey Jones.

"They made other friends, like Leatherhead and a few aliens and people from other dimensions and…other people. They picked up a lot of enemies too, like Bishop and Stockman.

"Most of the series is based off of their struggles against the Shredder and his followers, the Foot, although the Shredder was eventually defeated, in the movie continuity anyway, and the Foot were taken over by his daughter Karai. There are other continuities, but the basics are the same."

I stopped and took a deep breath, glancing at the turtles, Splinter and Tammy out of the corners of my eyes. Everyone looked shocked. Even Splinter.

Raph left the room.

"Um," I said quietly, suddenly acutely aware of just how loud my voice was in the small room. "I…am really sorry I didn't tell you guys."

"I'm going to go get some water," someone said, and I realized it was Tammy. She got up slowly and left. Splinter, Leo, Mikey and Donnie still hadn't said anything.

Finally, Leo spoke. "So you knew…everything…the entire time?"

"Yeah." I could feel my face burning under everyone's scrutiny.

"We're comic book characters?" Mikey said faintly.

I nodded.

Mikey got up and left. Donnie stood not too long after, muttering as he left, and I was left isolated on the floor. Alone with Leo and Splinter, neither of whom looked like they were going anywhere anytime soon. They had that "we have much to talk about" look. But I was pretty sure the talking would be _about_ me, not with me.

I slowly got to my feet and left.


	50. Tammy's drink

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Fifty; Tammy

* * *

I watched the steam rise from the mug through narrow eyes.

"I thought you were getting water." Mikey grunted, getting a glass for himself.

"Wasn't strong enough and the water was hot." I replied, focusing on my drink.

Mikey gave me a look and leaned closer to take a sniff. He really shouldn't have done that, his jumping backwards and gagging startled poor Thatcher. Once Thatcher had established that the turtle was not, in fact, trying to step on him Thatcher let off an annoyed "Muff!" and returned to his food.

Mikey was waving his hand in front of his face and trying to stop the coughing. "What is that?" He demanded. "Wait, that's not peppermint Schnapps is it?" He looked torn between shock and hope. "You drink?" The turtle asked incredulously.

I glared at him through the steam. "I don't know what Shnops are but I do drink hot chocolate with mint extract… lots of mint extract." I sipped my drink, allowing the thick, sweet, silky flavor of chocolate to slide over my tongue even as the mint stung slightly at my lips, leaving me with an aftertaste like a breath of subzero mid-January air. Devine.

"So you don't drink either?" Mikey asked.

"No. No-no-no, _no_… yes… not unless the alcohol in mint extract counts… considering how much I use it just might." I frowned and swirled the rich brown fluid in the mug. Streaks of mint oil reflecting rainbow colors surfaced and were mixed back under. Sighing I looked up. "I thought you'd be happy about all this. You love comics, right?"

Michelangelo nodded, "I do, and it's cool –really cool- … only…" He was still frowning. That alone was enough to give me another shock, even when he was serious he didn't frown but here Mikey was looking positively depressed. "Why didn't she tell us sooner? I mean, I thought we were…" He trailed off, sounding hurt.

Admittedly, I could understand his feelings on that, but apparently we were experiencing two different expressions here. My world was cracked _way_ beyond the seams and I was questioning all the science I'd ever learned was true and what science was truly fiction while Mikey was upset that his friend had lied to him. "You sound like you're used to this kind of thing." I noted dryly.

"Hm?" Mikey looked blank for a minute before realization set in. "Oh! That! Yeah, no problem. We travel to different dimensions and through time all the time! … heh, time." Time travel? Wait... what?

His flippant mood didn't last long though. Within moments he was sinking back into frowny-face. "Why didn't she tell us sooner? First she gets sick and doesn't tell anyone, now this?" GAH! Big blue eyes on the verge of tears! Not cool! "Why doesn't she trust us?"

There's a question I could answer. "I really can't say how precisely like our world hers is, but if there's any similarity for humans it's no wonder. We're not exactly taught to trust anymore." Great, now my world is corroding rapidly _and_ depressing me. I need more mint hot chocolate… a double this time.

I could feel Mikey watching me as I went about fixing another drink for myself but he didn't say anything, not even when I offered him some –hold the mint.

After I'd settled myself on the counter with a fresh mug in hand I could tell that Mikey was still wanting to talk. I tilted my head slightly and offered, "Penny for your thoughts."

He turned his attention back to his glass before quietly asking. "You said 'we're not taught to trust'… does that mean… do you trust us?"

I nearly choked on my drink. After sputtering for a minute I managed to cough up a "What?"

Mikey was playing with his glass, head down but still looking up at me. "Do you trust us?" He asked meekly.

Now how the heck does anyone answer a question like that?! I'd known these guys for less than a week! Barely more than a weekend! "I…" I really didn't know how to answer that. How was I supposed to? I swallowed and looked into my drink. Swirls of minty oil but no easy answers. "I don't know." Wait… that didn't _feel_ right, almost like a lie, weird. "No, yes… kind of." Sighing I looked up. Gosh darn him and his blue eyes. "I haven't known you guys for very long, so I'm not about to make you godparents to my firstborn or anything, but I do trust you guys way more than I should for someone I only met last Wednesday… under less than perfect circumstances might I add." I couldn't help but smile slightly at the memory of me absolutely freaking out in their living room, not far from where I stood now.

Mikey managed a slight smile as well. Unfortunately it didn't last long before he was staring at his glass again. "Thanks." He murmured. I felt my own smile melting away. Quinn had been spending a lot more time with these guys than I had, it was no wonder Mikey felt a little hurt, but I could also understand why Quinn kept her mouth shut about certain _things_. That didn't excuse her… especially when it concerned her own health, but it did keep me from standing where Mikey was now.  
I bit my lip, thinking for a minute. "I'm sure she has her own reasons Mikey." I told him. "Just give her some time." He nodded but I was still unhappy with this advice. I'm not very good at helping people through their problems…

"So are you okay?" Mikey asked. "I mean, you believe her, right?"

Wow… hot chocolate, with pretty rainbows on top.

"Or do you?" He pressed slightly.

I sighed. "Yeah… for some reason I do. I mean, it fits. As insane and as crazy as all this is, it fits...Either she's telling the truth and is from another dimension or she's pretty loony in her own right, but she doesn't strike me as off so I'm inclined to believe her." My head seemed to be shaking from side to side of its own will, "I'm about two steps from throwing this mug on the floor and screaming 'everything I know is a lie'."

"Do it, do it!" I looked up, Mikey was smirking. I dipped my finger into my hot chocolate and flicked a couple drops at him. He reacted with one of his girly screams. "Augh! It burns! I smell like a candycane!"

"That's not peppermint!" I argued.

He stopped his act. "But I smell minty fresh." He argued.

"There's a difference between mint and peppermint." I corrected.

"Is it anything like the difference between pork and bacon?"

We bantered like that for a few minutes before the teasing lost its fun and we lapsed into silence. After a few seconds I asked. "I saw Donnie heading for his lab. Any idea where Raph went?"

Mikey shrugged and put his glass by the sink. "Out." He said. "Raph does that when things get all nutty. He'll go out, burn off some steam, come home when he feels like it." I nodded.

After finishing off the last of my hot chocolate and deciding I'd better cut myself off before I found out if mint extract really did have the ability to make me drunk I left the kitchen with the intent of getting my stuff together and heading back to my apartment. Hopefully Mikey would take me if Leo was still busy.

Much to my surprise Leo was waiting at the table where I'd left my bag earlier. He looked serious… talk with sensei serious not lecture serious. "Would you be willing to stay here instead of returning to your apartment?" He asked as soon as he saw my attention.

"I… uh…" The question was rather sudden. I hadn't even considered it. "I'm not staying in Raph's room again." I finally said.

"Fine, you can share with Quinn or we can try to fix up the other rooms." He said. I blinked, that was way too easy. "Master Splinter and I agree it would be for the best if you stayed at the lair from now on."

"I still have to go to work." I objected.

"Understood and agreed, but we really think you should stay here outside of work." Leo said quickly. "If there's anything you need from your apartment one of us will get it." There was an urgency to his tone that made it clear that while he was being polite he'd rather not give me a choice if he could help it.

"Fine." I agreed. "But why so sudden? I mean, what happened to my needing to lay low and stay at my apartment?"

"It's…" Oh boy, he's not meeting my gaze, what is it? "It's really difficult to explain. I really need you to trust us though; your staying at the lair is the safest option right now."

Something new was up. I didn't have the slightest what it was and I didn't like not being told what it was, but…

"Alright, I'll stay."


	51. Quinn and Don

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person who really deserves the credit for this story ever getting started.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-one; Quinn

* * *

Bricks can be much more fascinating than people give them credit for. No two bricks are exactly alike. Like snowflakes, only bigger and redder and longer lasting. They have pits, and little pebbles embedded in some of them, and discolorations from water and cracks from pressure.

You can also count them. It takes forever and a day to do so because _there's, like, a _gazillion_ of them,_ not to mention you get distracted by this and that so you lose count and have to start over from the beginning.

…Yes, I was stalling.

But hey, it was for a good reason! As soon as I left my room, it would be nothing but awkward silence and glances behind my back. Raph would be pissed, Mikey would probably be giving me the dreaded puppy dog eyes, and Leo would be stiff. Even more so than usual. Donnie… would probably bury himself in coffee and work.

Damn.

This was _exactly_ why I hadn't told the turtles before. Too much weirdness.

And it was also the reason I wasn't about to leave my room any time soon.

Eventually I smelled pizza, and considered for a moment before deciding it wasn't worth the risk. I'd give it another couple hours, and hopefully everything would be a little calmer by then.

I lay down on the bed and started to count the bricks on the ceiling.

* * *

I must've fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I remember I was waking up drenched in sweat and clutching the sheets so hard my knuckles were white and my claws were digging into the leather straps across my palms. My throat was dry and sore from breathing so hard.

This wasn't happening. The nightmares couldn't be back. I'd slept soundly just a little while ago.

Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe after a while I'd stop imagining things and then I could go back to bed and sleep peacefully. Yes. Surely I could tough it out.

A cackling Elder in the corner of my sight convinced me otherwise.

I caved, swaddling myself in the blankets before standing shakily to cross the floor and walk downstairs, experiencing an eerie sense of déjà vu. Once again, I descended into the living room, then fled to the safety of the one person I could rely on to be up at such an ungodly hour.

And there he was, seated in front of a glowing computer screen and typing furiously away.

I wanted to run over and jump into his lap and cry and feel safe. But that seemed like not such a good idea.

I stared at him silently for what seemed like an eternity before quietly shuffling over to stand behind him.

"Whatcha doing?" I murmured hoarsely.

"Looking up-Quinn," he said suddenly, spinning around and reaching back to turn off the monitor. "What are you-" He cut himself off and stared at me, brow ridges pulling together. "Nightmare?"

I nodded.

He sighed, looking defeated. "I thought they went away."

"Guess not," I croaked. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me," he muttered, frustrated now. "It's not your fault. Someone who has been thrown into a situation like this can't be expected to retain a fully stable subconscious." He stared at the blank monitor for a second, then looked back up at me, sighing. "Sorry."

I shook my head. "'S fine."

He looked annoyed again. Or maybe it was anxiety.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head.

He looked at me for a second before getting up and hugging me. He pat my back, rubbing circles, and I melted against him despite the blanket that was wrapped around me.

"Thanks," I mumbled into his plastron.

"You're welcome." I felt him take a deep breath. "So. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Good," he pulled back and gave me a little smile. "Uh…Do you want some coffee?"

"That'd be great."

I trailed after him as he walked upstairs. He reached into the cupboard and pulled out a new coffee carton like the pro he was, and the coffee machine was running in seconds.

"So…"

"So." I held back a smile. "What's up?"

"I'm working on improvements to the shell cells."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And what were you doing on the computer just now?"

He suddenly became very interested in the progress of the coffee maker. "Research."

"On what?"

"…You."

My mouth fell open. "Seriously?"

He kept staring at the slow _drip drip drip_ of the coffee through the filter.

"I'm not going to be mad," I huffed. "I mean, I can see why you'd want to do a background check. For all you know I'm a spy from the Foot or Purple Dragons."

"That doesn't explain why you know more about us than we do," he muttered, still scrutinizing the coffee.

"And what does?"

He gave me a funny look. "I thought you knew everything."

I snorted. "Have you ever watched a cartoon? There are more twists than a…something with a lot of twists in it." I spoke without thinking about what was coming out of my mouth.

And when I did, I was horrified.

"Oh, my God," I said, clapping a hand over my mouth. "Sorry. Um. This isn't a cartoon."

Donnie was giving me an even weirder look than he had been before. "You still see this as a cartoon."

"No! No. No I don't. Really. It's just that you said I knew everything, and everything I know is because of the cartoons and comic and movies and all that, so I just…um. Sorry. I'll stop now. Sorry."

Donnie shrugged. The pit in my stomach was sinking lower and lower.

We didn't talk until we started drinking the coffee. Don took one gulp and made a face.

"Someone bought decaf!"

…Uh oh. Had they really? I couldn't tell, but if Donnie-the-coffee-veteran said so, it must've been true.

And if so, the fingers would fly.

We grouched about the lack of caffeine for a bit before heading back downstairs to the lab. Donnie didn't get back on the computer, instead sitting onto a cot-like bed to make modifications to the shell cells, and I sat next to him to watch. I had no idea what kind of crazy stuff he was adding into there, but I had no doubt that whatever it was would be amazing.

I'm not sure how long we managed to stay awake on that decaf, but we must've dropped off eventually because the next thing I knew, Donnie was nudging me awake and Mikey was standing a few feet away, covering his mouth with his hands as he snickered.

Oh. Great. Another awkward morning.


	52. Tammy's close call

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for anything good here.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-two: Tammy

* * *

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. Once again I was sleeping comfortably in the army cot with Thatcher at my side, this time I wasn't putting anyone out (checked; Mike, Leo and Quinn were all in their rooms before I went to bed… Raph's room was empty, Donnie was working late.) It had taken some time, but we'd managed to get some of the stuff taking up some of the smaller rooms moved around until I could crash somewhere without putting anyone else out.

Thatcher and I got up and went to the kitchen where Mikey was cooking breakfast (ie, reheating pizza from last night. Nobody had been in the mood to cook, so I actually ordered the pizza myself.) He offered me a slice but I waved him off and fed Thatcher his dog food before grabbing some toast and milk for myself.

"Ready for work?" Mikey asked in an overly cheerful voice. "I'm sure you have a busy day at the office honey." He teased lightly. I could tell his heart wasn't in it. Quinn was usually up before me and we were both wondering where she was. Then again, where the heck were the other turtles? I hadn't set the alarm _that_ early had I?

"Where's Raph and Leo?" I asked.

Mikey looked around for a second before telling me, "Raphie _just_ got back in. Leo's lecturing him. He'll be out later to take you to work." The turtle paused to roll his eyes. "Because nobody else could possibly walk you to work, only the mighty ginsu master could handle such a dangerous task!"

I didn't have a clue what a ginsu was but somehow I don't think Leo would like hearing Mikey call him that. "And Donnie's still in his lab?" I confirmed.

"Probably." Mikey nodded.

That left Quinn. Was she up and just not in the kitchen? I should probably go looking for her but…

I ate my toast and drank my milk rather quickly. After rinsing out the glass I'd used I headed to the bathroom for a quick shower before changing into work clothes. By the time I'd packed a sack lunch Leo was in the main room waiting for me. There was sort of a sad look in his eyes that told maybe he and Raph had talked rather than the lecture, dunno for sure.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

From the direction of the lab I heard voices. "… decaf! Seriously, when I find out who it was.."

"Yep! Let's go!" I quickly hurried ahead of him, determined to get outside before the caffeine addict who'd discovered my little scheme found me.

The trip topside was relatively short, but seemed longer because it was so quiet. Leo didn't say a word and for once neither did my normally over active mind. I didn't want it too; things were scary and if I thought it out I'd be unable to act. I wasn't courageous enough to act despite being scared; I was someone who pretended the fear didn't exist.

Bits of sunlight shown down through the holes in the manhole cover overhead as we came up to it. "This is about a block away from the clinic. Head that way and you'll find the building." Leo explained, pointing. Quickly he climbed the ladder and slid the cover aside, then jumped down to allow me up. "Remember, keep your phone on you at all times, call if anything comes up, be careful." He repeated.

I blushed slightly, remembering the previous day's encounter with the scary man and my call home rather than to the lair. "Right. Speed dial." I told him, patting my pocket where the phone was kept.

There was something skeptical in Leo's eyes, but he didn't question me. I climbed up the ladder and pulled myself up into the morning daylight. Acting like I'd just stepped out of one of the side doors that opened into the building, I headed for the streets. Before turning towards the clinic I glanced back and saw that the lid had been replaced without a sound.

Before too long I was walking into the waiting room of the clinic. Kelly, the morning receptionist greeted me. "Good morning! Dr. Elder's running late, would you mind putting this message on his desk?" She asked, handing me a slip of paper.

"No problem." I assured her, taking the paper and heading for the medical wing.

I glanced at the paper. The time recorded wasn't too long ago, usually Dr. Elder was in by then. The message was from a NNYAR and the message itself read. _Koda confirmed FTD-PDQ. Still interested in the remains? Call back ASAP._ That didn't sound good. Who or what was 'Koda'? As for why he wanted a freshly dead corpse, I really didn't want to go there.

In Dr. Elder's office I put the note on his desk where he would be sure to find it. Before leaving I noticed a book buried under some papers and reports. Tempting as it was to investigate further I turned to the door to make sure there was time to look without being caught.

There wasn't. Before I had time to contain myself I jumped slightly and squeaked when I saw Dr. Elder standing in the doorway of his office. He chortled good-naturedly. "Sorry to sneak up on you, Tammy." He apologized. "Kelley said you were just ahead of me and that you had a message for me."

"Right." Quickly I grabbed the paper back up and turned to hand it to him.

He accepted the note and signaled for me to follow him as he turned and headed away from his office. Once he'd read the note he made a sort of sad grunty sound. "Tammy, I need you to pick something up for me. I'll get you the address and give you a card to pay for a taxi with…" He explained.

-----

Two hours later I was helping other technicians at a real veterinary hospital wrap a large bat in first a blanket, then plastic. I'd been on hand when they'd euthanized him and to be honest, he looked better dead than he had struggling with two useless kidneys and a bad pancreas.

Apparently he'd been kept illegally as a pet by somebody with too much money and not enough sense and by the time he'd been rescued his nutritional state was irreparable. The staff had little experience treating any kind of bat, but with a golden crowned flying fox on their hands there really wasn't anything that could have been done to save 'Batty Koda'.

The bat was transferred to a cooler and packed with ice to cool and preserve the remains. A male technician helped me to carry the cooler out to the waiting taxi and load the late 'Koda' into the backseat. "Take care of him, a lot of people tried to save him." The technician told me, smiling sadly.

I wanted to vomit. Here I was taking a rare and beautiful animal back to my madman boss. Most likely the bat's body would become more material for his insane 'hobby'. "Right, I'll keep that in mind." Like a large stone tied around my neck when I'm trying to swim.

As a true gentleman should, he opened the side door for me and closed it after I'd climbed in. Before the cab pulled away he winked and patted his waist. I was confused, absently mirroring the gesture. My hand patted the pocket of my scrub shirt and I almost jumped when I felt something stiff under the material. Looking more closely I discovered a folded index card with his name and number as well as a cheery 'call me!' "Oh for the love of Mike!" I groaned. It was corny, still, the guy had chutzpa, no denying that. As weird and random as it was it cheered me up. I had no intention of calling the guy, but I decided to keep the card anyway, just as a memento to boost my ego.

After tucking the card away in my pants pocket I looked up and frowned. I didn't have the slightest where I was, which wasn't surprising since I didn't know New York, but since the cab had just come from the clinic I expected to at least recognize _something_. To be honest I'd been so distracted by the card I hadn't even noticed if we were headed the right direction.

For some reason the cab driver pulled into a parking garage. "Wait a minute! What are you doing?" I demanded. It was a private parking garage so I had no idea how he'd even gotten in, but I was even more confused when he started going down… I hadn't even known parking garages could go down that far. "What's the deal? This is nowhere near the clinic!" I objected. The driver didn't answer, just kept driving. When he reached a low enough level that the cars were sparse I reached back into my pocket, resting my hand on my phone.

The cab drove into a level of the garage where I saw no cars, that was too much. Quickly I pulled the shell cell out and flipped it open, but before I could begin to dial the door next to me was pulled open and a man reached in and grabbed it from me. "Hey!" I tried to grab for it but he stepped back and my belt inhibited me. What to do? Stay in the relatively safe cab with the driver who'd brought me here and ignored me now, or get out and try to get the phone back. Since the garage outside felt terribly open I stayed in the cab, leaving the seatbelt buckled.

Dressed in neat clothing, businesslike and far too much like Morikan, the strange man looked over my phone. He pressed a button and I heard the tones indicating that it was dialing. After a moment I hear my father's voice on the other end of the line. My blood ran cold as the man told my father a lie about finding my phone in an empty cab and wanting to return it to the rightful owner. After a short round of niceties he hung up and stared at me for a minute, then reached over and closed the door. I saw him lean down next to the back tire, then stand up and signal to the driver to go. The taxi's engine hummed as it shifted into gear. The driver started forward, turned , and drove up the ramp to the next level up in the parking garage.

When I looked back the man was gone and the shell cell was so much electronic roadkill.


	53. Quinn creates the plan

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for anything good here.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-three; Quinn

* * *

I swear, as soon as I kill Elder I'm going after the one responsible for that decaf. Stupid Mikey and his smug looks and giggles behind our backs.

Poor Donnie cut quite the tragic hero, enduring the torment that was Mikey through all of breakfast.

Raph came down to eat with us eventually, and then Mikey whispered into his ear and he was grinning at us too.

I glanced at Donnie's eerily calm face and got the feeling that something awful was going to happen to the shell cycle. And the GameCube.

And I was really looking forward to it. Anything to wipe those stupid grins off their faces.

Finally, I couldn't take it any more. I finished my cereal (even Coco Puffs couldn't help!) and put my bowl in the sink.

"I'm going to go shower," I muttered, stalking past them to the bathroom.

I remembered to set the temperature to a more neutral degree this time after the last nasty incident with my back injury.

When I opened the door of the bathroom, it was to a shouting match between Leo and Raph. Mikey was looking helplessly between the two, and Donnie was sitting on the couch, pinching the skin between his eyes.

"--have ta stop it! What if somethin' happens--"

"--we need the files, and she provides valuable information--"

"--that all this is to you? A way ta get information--"

"--value and respect her but we need her help--"

"--help that we wouldn't need if you'd _just let us go beat the shit out of him already_!"

"Leonardo. Raphael." Splinter's voice echoed through the lair, and the two turtles stopped shouting, reduced to standing still and glaring resolutely at each other.

"This is no way to act. No matter what, we must remain calm. We do not want to fight amongst ourselves when there is a common enemy we must defeat. We are a _family_."

"Yes, Master Splinter," they said, respectful tones thinly masking thier bitterness.

I took a step out into the lair, and the door clicked shut behind me, drawing everyone's attention.

"Um," I said, feeling my face grow hot. "What's up?"

You could hear a pin drop. My gaze dropped to my shoes.

I heard Raph storm into the doo and slam the door shut behind him. Leo walked quietly up to his room to go meditate. Donnie eventually trudged back to his lair.

Splinter crossed the room and laid a furry paw on my shoulder. "Miss Quinn. Please, do not let this trouble you. My sons often…disagree."

I smiled drily. "Yeah." I know. "Thanks."

Master Splinter gave me a well-worn smile and went back to his study.

I plopped down on the couch before I realized that Mikey was still in the room, watching me. I patted the seat next to me, and he shuffled over, looking very much like the kicked puppy.

"Hey," I said quietly. The silence was deafening.

"Hey," he half-heartedly whispered.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"…Bull."

He frowned, looking away. I sighed.

"Look, Mikey. They fight all the time. It's probably just-"

"They were fighting about Tammy. And Dr. Elder."

…Oh. Well.

I couldn't think of anything to say, so instead I settled an arm around his shoulders and rubbed circles in the skin above his plastron in what I hoped was a comforting way.

A few seconds later, Mikey gave a shuddering sigh and leaned into me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"It's going to be okay," I said. And it would be. It always was. The turtles always saved the day, no matter what. And everything was okay in the end.

A certain infamous episode crossed my mind and I suppressed a shudder. Okay, well, maybe not all the time. But it wasn't like we were facing a giant robotic Shredder in an apocalyptic future. The turtles were all alive and well, and the Shredder was not.

Dr. Elder was still up and running like a malfunctioning cuckoo clock, but what worried me more was the ever-strengthening feeling that he hadn't done it alone. How could he have? There was no way he'd just popped up out of nowhere able to create new life forms and put people's souls into them all by himself. Villains were always connected in some way or the other.

So who was in on it? Bishop? Maybe some kind of infiltration thing to find the turtles?

Oh, God, what if I had a tracking device implanted in me?

Mikey shifted under my arm, and I froze. Was he asleep? A quick peek at his eyes told me he'd nodded off, and I sighed. Good. A good rest'd probably help him feel better.

My thoughts trailed back to Bishop, then ran along other fears that branched off from his involvement, a spider web of worries. Stockman? The Foot? What if I was really an android?

…Dr. Elder. Dr. Elder, Dr. Elder, Dr. Elder, saying how much he loved his daughter…

And Tammy was still working for him. Suddenly I understood Raph's paranoia. Elder was crazy. Anything could happen to her as long as she kept working for him.

Didn't we already have the files? So why was she still working there, unless there was something else she needed to find out?

Which brought me back to the villains-in-arms conspiracy.

I sighed. My left arm was starting to fall asleep. Oh frabjous day.

I turned on the TV and got ready to watch an hour or two of _Meerkat Manor_.

Yossarian had just left the Whiskers when the door to Donnie's lab slammed open. I spun around to see what had happened, and Mikey fell to the side, quickly waking up.

"LEO!" Donnie shouted, tearing out of the lab. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "SPLINTER! RAPH!"

Leo's door flew open, followed quickly by Splinter's and the door to the dojo. They rushed to meet Donnie. Thatcher emerged from where he'd disappeared to, whining.

"The signal from Tammy's cell went off," he said, stumbling over the words. "The tracker's not working. Someone must've broken her cell."

Raph growled, and Leo looked grim.

"Tammy's in trouble?" Mikey yelped. "We have to go save her!"

Donnie scrubbed uselessly at his scalp with thick green fingers. "I know, I know. But I don't know where she is. The cell got smashed in a parking garage. She could be anywhere by now."

"Why was she in a parking garage?" I heard myself ask.

"I don't know," Donnie murmured. He looked haunted. "They must've run the cell over. I specifically reinforced hers so that something like this wouldn't happen."

"Donatello." Don looked up at his father. "Do not blame yourself."

Don's expression twisted. I wanted to hug him, but now really wasn't the time.

"We have to go find her," Raph said lowly.

Leo finally spoke. "We don't know where she is."

"The Foot have her!" Raph exploded. "It's a no-brainer, Leo! We already know the mystics are involved-"

"-and we don't know where they are, either. Dr. Elder may have other contacts as well."

"Shell," Raph muttered.

And then I made a most ridiculous suggestion.

"We could try tracking her by scent."

All eyes were on me instantly. Wonderful.

"I mean, Thatcher knows her smell better than anybody. He might be able to find her." I took a deep breath. "I could try, too."

There was an intense silence, during which I thought _hey, maybe this could actually work_.

"He's still a puppy," Don murmured, bursting the bubble of hope. "No training, and he's not a tracker." He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his palm. "It's still worth a shot."

"Fearless?" Raph asked, glancing at his older brother.

Leo frowned, but nodded. "We have to try. Sensei?"

Splinter looked weary. "Keep to the shadows, my sons," he said. "And you, Miss Quinn. You must not be seen."

I nodded along with the turtles.

Splinter seemed to deflate slightly. "You may go. I will wait for you to return."

We scattered to our respective rooms to get ready. I donned my old baggy hoodie, secured my tail inside my baggiest pair of jeans, covered my eyes with sunglasses, and stuffed my ears beneath a hat. Disguise, check. I made sure my tekko were well-hidden beneath my hoodie and headed back out into the main room.

The turtles were waiting for me. Mikey waved me over, and Leo explained the plan to me: Thatcher and I would try to pick up a scent using the holster from Tammy's bow as an example, and Raph would go with us while Leo, Donnie and Mikey followed in the Battle Shell.

It was indeed a plan. A strangely plausible plan, as long as Thatcher's or my skills were up to snuff.

The trek through the sewers was long and tense. No one spoke a word, and Thatcher and I were very much the odd mutants out as the four turtle brothers moved like a well-oiled machine.

When we emerged topside, I was overwhelmed once more by the multitude of sights and smells and sounds.

We had a plan. A good plan.

My only question was how the shell we were going to find Tammy in all of this.


	54. Tammy's offer

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for anything good here... oh, and nag her to write the next chapter for me will ya? ;p

* * *

Chapter Fifty-four; Tammy

* * *

The office was nice.

Since the door leading out of the office was being guarded by two guys in suits it was a pretty good guess that I was supposed to stay here. The room was empty of people though, so I occupied myself by looking around.

Plush carpeting, large windows with ebony blinds, shelves and a large desk made of a darkly stained wood. A few tastefully chosen plants such as bamboo, a bonsai tree and some flowered plants I didn't recognize interspersed with decorative weapons, art pieces and a small cabinet that probably held drinks. The entire room was filled with rich culture and carefully arranged beauty. It may have been set up as an office, but it felt more like a showroom. I wondered if any work other than cleaning and maintenance ever took place in here.

Plants and paintings couldn't hold my interest for long, so I turned my attention on the weapons. Around the room hung or rested several swords of different lengths, some so short I assumed they were daggers or knives. Metal fans hung tastefully behind a single stalk of bamboo, I'd heard those could be pretty vicious but didn't know what they were called. A long staff-like weapon with a blade was displayed high on one of the top shelves. All these weapons were clean, polished, and cold. I doubted any of them had ever been used as anything other than decoration.

Beside the desk was a weapon that stood out strongly from the others. Resting on a series of carefully placed pads was an English longbow… maybe. It looked a little short. Unlike the other weapons this one clearly wasn't an oriental weapon and held almost no semblance to the yumi Master Splinter and Donatello were teaching me with. The wood was a rich, honey color and rounded with lightly tanned leather binding at the grip. The ends shone with highly polished white tips from which was strung a sleek black string. The line struck by the string emphasized the delicate curve of the bow. It was beautiful.

Arranged next to the bow itself was a set of arrows tipped with small metal blades. One of the arrows sported large, pure white feathers tipped midnight black at the end while the rest were finished with a slightly smaller feather colored a rich brown with large black spots. The feathers were amazing, perfectly complimenting the bow's aesthetics, but something about them bugged me. The size of the white feathers and the particular pattern on the smaller feathers were familiar, but I couldn't place exactly what bird they were from.

"You seem to appreciate the yumi and ya." I jumped.

Practically at my shoulder stood a woman who appeared only slightly older than myself and I thought to be about my same height until I saw her heels a little later.

"Uh, what?"

"The yumi and ya, bow and arrow." She explained in a voice smoothed over by an accent.

"Oh, right." I half agreed, stifling the urge to point out that these were certainly English weapons. "They're pretty." That was an understatement.

The woman stepped around the weapons and reached underneath for a glove. After pulling it on she carefully lifted one of the arrows – the white feathered arrow. "I recently acquired this set from a business rival of mine. Of his vast collection these were the finest pieces. Only recently was the aging and flaming process for the arrows finished and the bow has barely reached proper setting for frequent use." Having fully admired the arrow, the woman replaced it upon its small protective pad. "Unfortunately, the arrows will never be shot. My opponent used tail feathers of protected animals and I intend to see he and his company prosecuted to the fullest extent of this country's laws."

"Illegal feathers…" I murmured. Anger hissed in my gut as realization struck. The large cloud-white feathers and the beautifully patterned brown and black feathers, "The bald and golden eagles."

Removing the glove with one hand, my hostess agreed. "Yes." Any company to use these feathers without permit would have difficulty surviving legal charges. The company would be crippled if it did survive. This explained fully why someone who had brought me here against my will would do such seeming 'good citizen' work as turning in poachers.

I also suspected why these were laid out for me to see. "I take it this is supposed to be a threat or something?"

The woman moved behind the desk and opened a drawer. From inside she pulled a file. "The arrows are merely an example. Show of strength if you will." She laid the file on her desk. "This is a threat."

Stepping closer, I leaned over to read the tab on the file. My last name and first two initials were neatly printed. When I looked up the woman gestured for me to continue with the file, so I opened it.

Inside were several papers. My high school and college transcripts, my job applications for the places I'd officially worked at, short reports on my parents and brothers, a few pages on my home church as well as an insert on the church I'd attended during college and a full list of names and contact information for my college roommates.

I closed the file and looked up. "That's a pretty good threat… why am I being threatened again?"

The file was returned to its place in the desk. "You are currently working as Dr. Elder's soul technician. He has no desire for more than one technician and as the last technician selected for him proved unsatisfactory it is in our best interests that you remain in Dr. Elder's employ."

Something was fishy about what this person was telling me. "And by 'our best interests' you are referring to who, exactly?" I asked.

My question was ignored. "Should you agree to my terms, you will be rewarded. Your twenty-two thousand dollar debt in student loans will vanish. Before your three month term is finished you will be fully certified, without concern for interstate or even international difficulties." That… couldn't be legal. "You will be paid higher than any other technician in the country. Anything you wish for continuing education will be provided for you, and this is all merely the beginning."

I stared. It was all I could do for several minutes. During this time she calmly stared right back at me. Finally I swallowed and was shocked to discover a voice in my throat. "Who the heck are you people?" I demanded. "I'm not even a real graduate yet and a mediocre student at best but you're offering me…" I stalled, trying to find words, "Offering me…Heck if I know! Some kind of mafia deal or something! What? Do you want me to kill the president or something?"

The woman gave the slightest shake of her head. "Nothing so drastic. Simply think of this as a job interview. I ask a few questions, you answer them honestly and at the end of the interview you sign a few papers and become and employee."

Still sounded fishy. "What kinds of questions?"

The casual tone in her voice dried up as she asked, quite shortly, "How much contact have you had with the turtles?"

I choked so hard it hurt all the way into my sinuses. I actually heard my own breathing come to a sudden stop. To say the absolute least speech was impossible.

She permitted a faint smile. "I assume this means you've met with them more often than when the turtles stole Dr. Elder's escaped experiment." When I couldn't reply she nodded as if this confirmed something and turned to walk around her desk. "Your landlady was kind enough to provide one of my ninja with the information that you have rarely been in your apartment from the very first day you had moved in. From the information collected on you it was not difficult to realize that this behavior would be abnormal for you." Behind the desk she turned to face me. "So please clarify exactly how much contact you have had with the turtles and in what nature what this contact?"


	55. Quinn leads the search

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for anything good here... oh, and nag her to write the next chapter for me will ya? ;p

* * *

Chapter Fifty-five; Quinn

* * *

We emerged topside just as the sun started setting, and the vast amount of tall buildings cast shadows over the entire city. And yet people continued to bustle about. New York really was the city that never slept. And neither did its inhabitants.

Donnie held the holster out to Thatcher, then me, and I picked up a scent from it.

Let me tell you, tracking is weird. It's nothing like you see in the movies-not so easy as a sniff to the breeze before bounding off for a tearful reunion. Not in this city, anyway.

The sheer amount of smells was dizzying. In one breath I could distinguish dozens of different scents, and they were only the most prominent ones. If I concentrated, there were at least a hundred, and it made my head spin.

I glanced down to see that Thatcher was similarly overwhelmed, sniffing everything within proximity. I couldn't tell if he was actually trying to pick up Tammy's scent or was just looking for lunch.

I took one look at the turtle's faces and my resolve sharpened instantly. I took the holster, sniffed it again, and set about sifting through the smells. Nothing popped out at me right away, but after a while I became aware of an underlying scent, one that smelled a lot like Tammy. I took a moment to make sure that was what it was before blindly following my nose down a few blocks. It grew stronger, and before I knew it I was standing in front of a parking garage.

I stopped and turned around to stare at the guys, and Thatcher took the opportunity to bound forward into the garage.

"_Thatcher!_" I hissed. What if someone was in there? What if they _saw_ him?

What if this was where Tammy was?

I leapt over the gate and ran after him, heart hammering.

I caught up to him on one of the lower floors-and I mean _really_ low. He was circling one spot and yippind and wagging his tail, and for a second I thought he'd found her.

But then I got closer, and he was only pawing the sorrow remains of something electronic. No key, no secret door, no kidnappers.

No Tammy.

I fell onto my butt on the ground and buried my fingers in my hair. My tail swooshed noisily behind me.

The guys caught up to us.

"Hey, Quinn! Quinn, what'd you-" As Mikey got closer, he saw what I'd seen. Nothing.

"God dammit," I swore. This was where the trail stopped. They must've rolled up the windows of whatever car or something she was in and drove away.

Nothing, we had nothing.

Donnie scooped up the busted electronics. "Hey, this is Tammy's shell cell."

I froze. Okay, that made sense. We knew it'd been driven over by something, most likely a car or truck or something else big and heavy.

And, according to the smell, Tammy had never left the car, only her cell had.

Which meant someone else had taken it from her.

I stood and ran to Donnie, grabbing his hands and sticking my nose into the broken parts of the shell cell.

That was it. The smell of gasoline, concrete, dirt, other things I couldn't recognize, Tammy…and someone else. A man, probably, judging by the scent. I took another breath and memorized the scent.

"I think I've got it," I said. "There was a guy that touched this. I've got his scent, I can track him."

Donnie looked like he wanted to say something, but when Leo nodded at me he lost his chance and I bolted, running back up all the floors to the entrance.

We were going to catch him. I had his scent, I could track him and we were going. To. Find. Him.

As I got closer to the surface, I started to hear and smell something familiar, tugging at the back of my mind, but I had to focus on the task at hand. Finding the kidnapper was first on my list of priorities. Forget whatever else I my senses picked up, I had to zero in on him alone. It was our only chance at finding Tammy.

Then I reached the entrance, and I ground to a halt at the gate.

My mind drew a blank as I stared out at the neon-lit city. All I could do was stand there feeling utterly useless as our search for Tammy came crashing down around me, along with so much rain.


	56. Tammy gives an answer

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place... let her know she can't hog Donatello to herself.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-six; Tammy

* * *

She was quite calm, waiting for my response, which was not forthcoming. I knew that considering the situation I was probably giving more away in my silence. "So…" My mind was scrambling. What to say? How to word it so I wouldn't give anything away? "So… you're asking me to do what exactly?" It was thin, but it was something.

The woman sounded almost soothing. "Simply tell me all that you know of the turtles and of Dr. Elder's experiments. I know that the first project is currently residing with the turtles. I am also aware that the second experiment was not kidnapped by members of the Purple Dragon." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Although it is no surprise neither Dr. Elder nor the police questioned your innocence." She looked pointedly at my face, but not my eyes.

I blushed slightly and covered the cut on my cheek. "You're suggesting I did this to myself?"

She didn't reply merely waited for me to make up my mind… but if I had to make up my mind that meant there was a choice. A seed of an idea had sprouted in my mind, I needed time to make it grow into a plan. "So you're saying I have to tell you about those…" a prodding gesture, asking for her to take over.

"Tell me of the turtles." She said simply. "I will not ask again."

"And the other option?"

"The other option involves the folder." Aha, a little heat. At the very least my playing dumb was annoying her, but it was working for me too.

"So, either a or b, right?"

"That is correct." She was getting impatient. My little game wouldn't work for long, but it didn't have to.

"But there's always another choice."

A slight smile. "I would not say that."

"But there is!" I was nearly ready to make my point. "A test presents the option of a or b. It looks like there are two possible answers but there's really three." Her expression shifted to something like disdainful skepticism. "The first option is of course, a." I shifted on my feet and gestured like I were debating over an imaginary test. "The second option is obviously b and it seems to fit the question better." I shifted again, as if turning to the second choice presented to me. "But the third option," I shifted again, "Is to turn in the test, without answering!" Once more I moved on my feet, putting my hands in front of me like I'd reached an exciting answer, but before I'd settled my weight on both feet I kicked just as hard and fast as I was able.

All my dancing around had done its job, covering any movements that might have broadcasted the kick beforehand. My foot connected solidly with her gut, knocking her back against her desk. I jumped forward using one of the combinations Leo had taught me and managed to knock her back over her desk before I gracefully crashed to the floor in a heap. "Ouch." Okay, need to work on my landings after jump kicks… duly noted.

I rolled to my feet only to barely miss being hit by that woman's counter attack. How was she that fast? She'd tried to jump down on me just as I'd rolled out of the way and now stood staring at me with no more expression than she usually showed, just hints of annoyance and realization that made me nervous. When she moved I stumbled back and fell against the stand with the bow and arrows. Again I crashed to the ground, the cart toppled as well and I felt something cut into my hand as I tried to get up again and something else slid off the cart and landed on me.

Looking up showed me the woman hadn't moved much more than the slight shift that had startled me. Boy, I make a great ninja, don't I? Lying on the ground with my legs propped up on the cart, my hand bleeding from an arrowhead and the bow lying lazily in my lap with the other arrows and the little pads they'd all been on scattered around me. To make matters worse, the woman was standing there looking amused at my rather clumsy reaction.

My face was bright red as I tried to sit up, pulling the bow off my lap with one hand and lifting the injured hand off the arrowhead. I looked back up at the woman and tried to force a laugh. "Well, that option didn't pan out."

She did not react. Sighing, I inspected my injured hand to make sure the cut wasn't too bad before pulling myself off the cart and righting it as I stood. Sheepishly I picked up the arrow with the bald eagle feathers. The arrow weighed almost nothing and the soft brush of the feather over my skin as I lifted it made me shiver a little. I'd seen bald eagles before but never actually touched one of their feathers.

The arrow was as beautiful as the bow now that I looked at it closely, but unlike the bow this one might serve an immediate use. A brief shift in the way I was holding the arrow and an instant later it was in the air. Whether she dodged or my throw was once again too weak I don't know but just as I was getting her desk drawer opened I saw her leap over her desk and dropped to avoid getting hit. The drawer slammed shut as I rolled on my back and kicked out with both legs. She stepped back to avoid the hit but I already had my hand on a second arrow and was throwing it. This time I saw her catch it and toss it aside.

For a moment we just stared at each other. She was staring at me with a rather calculating gaze, like I was a problem that needed to be written down and solved. I slowly got my feet back under me and tried to decide what to do next. The woman was obviously better than me, there was no way I could ever beat her in a fair fight so how could I cheat to my advantage?

A plan trailed through the back of my mind. I smiled and waved. The woman looked confused but braced herself even before I could throw myself into a low spin kick. I caught the desk chair and sent it crashing towards her. She jumped over it so easily I was half questioning whether she was human or not, but by the time she landed I had the desk drawer open and the file in hand.

Leaving the drawer open, I stepped back until my foot hit the bow still lying on the floor. The woman stepped forward, following me. "In this modern world everything is done in computers." She said. "You are aware that destroying those files will not eliminate the collected information."

I was aware of that, but I had no intention of destroying the files. "Quick question, are you Dr. Elder's boss or are you guys working for him? I didn't quite catch that part." Clearly banter was not one of my strengths.

She took another step forward and I hopped back, stuffing the open end of the file folder in my mouth and ducking to grab the bow at the same time. The file remained clamped in my teeth as I held the bow ready as though it were a staff weapon. Being English in make I had little doubt the bow could withstand the abuse if I had to hit this woman.

The woman looked almost amused as she reached under the desk and withdrew a hidden dagger I hadn't known was there.

"Uh…" I hummed around the folder. "Wehl…" I forced a nervous chuckle. The way she was holding the thing made it clear the woman knew how to use a blade. Lacking a better plan, I hooked the leg of the weapons' cart with one foot and kicked it at her much like I had with the desk chair. Again she leapt over it but I was already making a run for the door. As I ran the hairs along my neck stood on edge and I jumped to the side just as her dagger flew past me and imbedded itself in the door. Ignoring the somewhat shameful squeak that came from my throat, I grabbed the doorknob and ran through.

The guard I had known would be there was waiting and ready, likely warned by the blade his boss had just sent through the door. I swung the bow at him and he lifted his arms to block, only to get a foot to the groin instead. A well placed kick caught him in the face as he bent over and before he had time to recover I was running again… limping and hopping actually, but at running speed.

In the elevator I'd been brought up in I slapped at the only floor button the private elevator had. A few moments passed before the elevator dinged, spat out the security card that had been placed in there earlier and slowly started to close the doors.

In the hall in front of me the woman burst out of her office, glared at the man who was still nursing his sensitive parts, then glared at me. Just before the doors closed I could swear I saw the glare turn into a slight smile, although I hadn't a clue what it meant.

During the ride down I carefully nursed my foot. I wasn't used to really kicking anyone or anything so just hitting that guy twice had left my foot and shin with a tingling, throbbing pain that was slowly easing. By the time the elevator reached the ground floor I could walk on the foot normally and had the bow up and ready to use.

The doors opened to reveal many, many people. Most of them were well dressed and several of them had video cameras, picture cameras and recorders. They looked at me first expectantly, then with disappointment. I froze not sure what to do.

"Excuse me miss." A young woman called. "Is Ms. Oroku Karai coming soon?"

Oroku Karai? The woman?

In a flash I lowered the bow, snatched the folder from my mouth and tried to cover. "Um… I'm sorry, Miss Karai is in a meeting right now. She should be finished shortly." Pasting on my best employee-of-the-month smile I added. "I'm sure she will be willing to provide a full interview once she arrives. Excuse me." Smiling and nodding sheepishly, I stepped out of the elevator and did my best impression of being a hard working employee with files and an artifact to deliver to another part of the building.

I was almost outside when a cop stopped me. "Excuse me miss. I'm Sergeant White, is miss Oroku in her office?"

"Um…" _Police… stolen file… stolen bow… was kidnapped… need help…_ "I…" _Hand bleeding… insane boss… Karai… Foot ninja_!, "Yes, she's waiting for you. Please speak with the receptionist."

"Thank you. Good evening." He nodded before looking up, clearly trying to find where this receptionist might be in the large room filled with media.

"Yeah… you too."

Stepping out into the streets I looked around as the first raindrops of what promised to be a night storm started to hit the concrete. The clouds were making the city get dark faster than it should and other than the people darting in and out of the building I'd just come from it looked like things were beginning to settle down in this part of the city. Quickly I tucked the files under my baggy scrub top, then slung the bow over my shoulder before hurrying in what I hoped was an Eastward direction.

After jogging for several blocks and getting very nearly soaked I ducked into a partially sheltered alley and looked for a sewer lid. It had three but the lids were all bolted down. Groaning, I ran the length of the alley and dashed out into the sidewalk again, running faster now that there were fewer people which made me stand out more.

Several more blocks, I'd lost count. Around me enormously tall office buildings –sky scrapers?- started to give way to smaller buildings, then blocks of buildings connected to each other. One of these buildings had a short line and the people in line all wore dark clothes, too much makeup and hair dyed too much till it was permanently stringy. Music thudded out of the building till my teeth rattled. I hurried in line and waited, trying to look as bored and uncaring as the rest. When it was my turn I showed the bouncer my ID and after a quick pat down revealed that while I carried a slightly damp folder I had no arrows with which to arm my bow he let me in.

It was the first nightclub I'd ever been in and probably not the best choice for a first… or any for that matter. One guy, one girl, and an it (I really couldn't tell) stopped me to ask for something. I waved them off and eventually made it back to the bathroom where a guy was carefully touching up his makeup. He waved to me and offered his mascara. I smiled and shook my head before ducking into the only stall with a functioning lock.

The music in the place shook the bolts holding the stalls together and the murky water in the toilet bowl rippled slightly. I sighed and sat down on the cracked toilet seat. Originally the plan had been to stay in the club long enough to catch my breath, dry off a little, and come up with a plan.

Instead I cried.

* * *

Sorry guys, but following this will be a hopefully brief hiatus until we've got some more chapters written up.


	57. Quinn's distraction

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place... let her know she can't hog Donatello to herself.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-seven; Quinn

* * *

By the time I got back to the lair, I was soaking wet, and completely miserable. And Tammy was still out there, alone and no doubt fighting to get away from her kidnappers. I couldn't see her sitting by passively unless it was to plan her escape.

And she would have to, because unless Splinter could pull a crystal ball out of his kimono we weren't going to be of any help to her.

I went to my room to towel off, and when I emerged back into the main room, still rubbing my tail with the towel, the turtles were deep in conversation with Splinter.

They stopped talking quick enough, but I was used to their secret conversations by now.

And I was tired. So, so tired.

"Hey, guys," I muttered. I shuffled back to my room to brush out my fur, and as soon as I closed the door to my room they were talking again. I kept brushing my tail until I couldn't hear their voices any more, and then I walked back out into the main room to see what they'd decided.

Leo was on his way out of the lair with a pretty damn grave expression on his face. Great.

"Where's he going?"

"Ta do somethin' stupid," Raph growled, storming into the dojo and sliding the paper door shut so hard it bounced back open. He shut it three more times before it wisely decided to stay closed.

"So, what? He's-going-to-go-volunteer-to-be-one-of-Dr. Elder's-experiments stupid, or revealing-himself-to-the-general-public stupid?

"He's going to go talk to Karai," Don said, looking as tired as I felt.

"Okay, I kind of agree with Raph on that one."

"She's our last shot at finding Tammy," Don sighed, pinching the skin between his eyes. "If anyone knows where Tammy is, it's the Foot."

I didn't say anything. He was right. He was always right.

The Foot were everywhere, so it followed that they saw everything, and Karai, as the head of their clan, would know everything that went on in NYC. And Leo did have the best shot at getting in and out of there peacefully-his relationship with her was probably the least hostile of any of the turtles'. Well, Don could probably pull off a successful meeting with her too, but Leo matched Karai's personality point for point. And so off he went.

The problem now lay in what exactly I was going to do to keep my mind off of Tammy's whereabouts for however long it would be until Leo came back. TV and video games were really starting to bore me, and I needed something that would completely distract me.

The computer.

I walked down to the lab, wincing as I passed the dojo-Raph was really having it out in there.

Donnie was there, bent over a hunk of machinery that would no doubt do something utterly amazing once it was completed.

"Hey."

He glanced up. "Hey."

I took the seat he'd abandoned in front of the computer. We didn't say anything for a while; I just watched him working away at the complex bit of circuitry.

"Sorry," I muttered.

Donnie looked up, frowning. "What?"

"I'm sorry. For all this crap."

Don looked away and sighed. "It's not your fault." He glanced up at me and must've seen something there because he sighed and looked away again. "We get into this stuff all the time. You should know that." He gave me a wry smile. I just felt even more miserable.

"…Thanks, Don. I'm going to go…eat something."

I trudged upstairs and made a beeline for Mikey's signature spot on the couch.

"Huh? Oh, hey! Do you want to play-"

I wrapped my arms around his torso and buried myself in his scent, trying desperately not to cry.

There was only a moment's hesitation before Mikey wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.

"Shh, shh, it's gonna be fine," he murmured.

I stayed there until I didn't feel the need to cry any more, and detached myself from him.

"Feel better?"

I nodded. "Yeah." My voice was hoarse.

He grinned. "Good. Hey, you wanna train?"

I raised my eyebrow, mood brightening already. His smile was contagious. "You? Suggesting training? I must be hearing things."

He pouted. "Hey, I can be serious sometimes."

I cracked a smile. "If you say so."

He gave me a playful punch to the arm and lead me to the dojo.

"Warm-ups first," he said, looking strict.

I was flat-out grinning now. "Wow, you are being serious."

I looked up just in time to see him stick his tongue out at me, sending me into a fit of giggles.

I had just started my kata when Donnie entered the room. "Hey, Mikey, I was wondering if you already ordered pizza."

"Oh! No, no pizza tonight. I'm going to cook up an awesome dinner. Leo and Tammy are going to need it when they get home. Dealing with the Foot isn't fun." Mikey trailed off, talking to himself as he jogged to the kitchen. "Hey, Don, take over for me?" he shouted before getting to work on dinner.

I straightened up and turned to face Don. Neither of us looked away at first, and we stared at each other for a while. I was starting to feel a little weak-kneed when he finally averted his gaze.

"Okay. So…we should get started." He eyed the tekko in my hands. "Actually, is hand-to-hand okay with you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sure." My voice had straightened itself out by the time I was done talking, praise be.

Of course, then we were really, really close for the hand-to-hand combat, and I was both glad and a little panicky. Hello, butterflies. Kindly stay out of my esophagus. Thank you.

"Okay, let's go over basic blocking techniques."

Okay, okay. I could do this. Yep.

"So if someone were to attack you with a blade, you would disarm them by doing this"-he took my arm and brought it down on his wrist, and suddenly all I could think about was _gosh that feels nice_. What were we doing again?

"-Now you try."

…Uh.

He took in my dazed expression and frowned. "You're sure you're alright?"

"Fine." Why thank you, voice. How did you know I wanted you to sound so strained?

He sighed. "Okay. Let's try something else."

Please oh please oh please let it be long range-

"Frontal assault."

Ha. Ha ha ha. Fate, you are a cruel, miserable thing. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.

"Come at me."

All thoughts came screeching to a halt.

What.

_What_.

"Try to hit me."

I took a deep breath and charged, trying to swing at his head. He caught my arm, twisted it and had me in a headlock. I could feel his breath in my hair.

Good bye, butterflies. Hello, vampire bats.

"You're broadcasting your movements," he said, and I suppressed a shiver. "Don't look directly at the spot you're aiming for, and try to use feints sometimes."

I nodded. "Uh huh. Sure."

He released me and the room was suddenly much colder than I remembered.

"Try again."

The lightheadedness started to wear off after a while and was replaced with mounting frustration instead. By the end, I really, really wanted to punch something. not Don, but _something_. I'd only gotten one of two hits on him, and I had the sneaking suspicion that it was only because he'd let me. And that made me madder than the fact that I couldn't actually do it on my own.

Of course, Don was his usual reassuring self. "You're making great progress!" Hah. Hah.

When he ended the session, I took a deep breath and headed for the shower to cool off. Brushing my tail afterwards helped, too.

After that it was straight to the kitchen to see if Mikey needed any help. He did, and I was put to work making meatloaf, but only after putting on the ol' plastic gloves from Donnie's lab. Two-fingered though they were, they did help keep my fur away from the food.

The meatloaf had just gone in the oven when the door to the sewers slammed open and April an Casey came running in.

Followed by Tammy.


	58. Tammy's back

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-eight; Tammy

* * *

By the time I'd regained my senses enough to splash cold water on my face and leave the bathroom I had the presence of mind to remember Casey Jones. Too bad I also remembered to ask for the phone book; there were more than a page of Jones's and half a column of these were Casey. I was down to two quarters, a dime and a penny before the correct voice answered "Casey here, what do ya want?"

He'd come in a cab and picked me up with his girlfriend, April... dunno. Reminded me of someone on TV but I don't remember who. Once introductions were made the next thing I knew Casey was shaking me awake, I'd brilliantly fallen asleep on the way. His girlfriend had that mildly annoying sympathy look seniors give freshman during winter finals. Well, tables turn and freshman laugh at seniors come spring. I'm not making much sense now am I? Well, cabs don't make the best place to nap.

I had to peal myself out of the cab since my clothes were still damp. Casey quickly paid the driver before he and April led the way into a store building and down to the basement where somebody had blasted a hole into the sewers. What followed was a pretty short trip through the sewers to the lair. My two fellow humans ran into the lair looking for everyone so they could announce that I was okay nice of them. I just kind of trudged inside still carrying the -now damp- folder in one hand and the increasingly heavy English bow in the other; both of which ended up on the floor when I was tackled to the ground by a very happy dragon.

"Augh!... No!... Thatch!... _pfffpt_ No! Not the face!... bleck!..."

"No! Bad dog... dragon... Bad!" Mikey tried to grab Thatcher around the middle but his wings were flapping frantically and Mikey couldn't find anything to grab without hurting Thatch.

"Down! Off! Go do your business! Help!"

Finally Mikey managed to grab Thatcher's hind legs and pull him back. The dragon continued to struggle, being more than a handful for the turtle I managed to sit up and rub at the back of my head, which was still hurting from hitting the stone floor. Quinn was standing a short ways behind Mikey with weird plastic gloves on her hands and a strange look on her face.

Raph was standing near the dojo exchanging short remarks with Casey that looked like they could turn into a fight at any moment although I missed what the problem was. April was a little further away talking rapidly with Master Splinter and Don.

"Where's Leo?" The words were out of my mouth before I'd fully realized the turtle was missing. At first I was a little embarrassed because I'd not been there very long, much less really able to take account of the situation, but after standing up and grabbing the folder off the floor I realized it really was weird that Leo wasn't around. It worried me, deeply. The present turtles were still all busy; Mikey was trying to pick Thatch up and take him somewhere to calm down, Raph was now gesturing broadly and Casey was trying to calm him down without getting riled himself, Donnie was now doing the rapid talking while Master Splinter and April listened, Quinn was looking like she didn't want me to ask the question again. "Where's Leo?" I repeated louder, making it obvious the question was directed at her.

"He's at, uh, he went to talk to Karai." She paused and took a breath although I couldn't tell what was bothering her. "We thought the Foot had you."

"Um, yeah. They did... I think." How was I supposed to know? Everyone was wearing suits not black pajamas! "I got out... Mikey, hold still." I grabbed his shell cell and pulled it from his belt. "Does this thing work the same as mine did?"

"Yeah... wait, you were... I mean, they did?" Thatcher made a nipping move towards the shell cell as soon as he saw it and Mikey quickly stepped back. "Dude! Didn't I give you enough kibble?"

For my part, I was struggling to figure out how to work the shell cell. "Text the name... how do I ?"

Before I knew it Quinn was at my shoulder. She reached in front of me and hit several buttons. A moment later the earpiece buzzed to indicate it was ringing. "Thanks." I said, honestly grateful, before putting the phone to my ear.

I almost jumped when after the second ring I heard the phone beep and Leo's voice answering "Is she back, Mike?"

"If you're asking about me, yeah, I'm back." I said. Odd, he didn't sound surprised. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. My ETA at the lair is just a couple minutes." Again he was confusing me, the building I'd been in was across the city, unless he was traveling by rocket or he'd just left before I got back that meant he had already gone and returned.

"Right... I'll let everyone know."

"Thanks are you okay? They didn't do anything to you did they?" He sounded like he was just trying to confirm a previous belief, not at all like the turtle who had been so insistent on my calling for help the last couple of days. What was the deal?

"I'm fine." I told him, absently hiding my cut hand behind my back as if he could see me.

"Good. See you all shortly." He replied before breaking the connection. I was left staring at the shell cell until it started making an annoying tone to indicate I needed to hang up as well.

Thatcher promptly started moving for the shell cell again when I handed it back to Mikey. The turtle quickly shoved the phone in his belt but Thatcher was determined to get to it so I took the dragon from Mikey, distracting him. Since he'd been so intent on the phone he wasn't as interested in attacking me now, thus I was able to explain to Mikey and Quinn, then everyone else, that Leo was on his way back.

While everyone waited for Leo to return I changed into dry clothes and ran a towel and comb through my hair. Donnie discovered the bow I'd -well- _stolen_ and April somehow broke up the progressing fight between Raph and Casey. Master Splinter stood quietly with a strange deep-thinking look on his face and Mikey ran into the kitchen to check on dinner. (Apparently they're trying to make meatloaf again. It isn't pizza and I know Mikey's not likely to let this batch ignite so I'm looking forward to it. Food sounds heavenly right now.)

When I came out of my room, I thumbed through the folder I'd gotten from the woman -Karai-for the first time. The pages appeared to be all original handwritten documents and while some of them were sticking to each other from the moisture I was pretty sure that should worst come to worst I could contact everyone and warn them -most of them owned guns so I was pretty sure they would be okay.

I looked up from the folderhoping to find Donnie and ask him for advice when I spotted him still looking at the bow and talking to Quinn about something. It was normal enough, him talking to Quinn, her talking back or listening with rapt attention, but something was weird. Maybe it was the way she was practically starry-eyed at him even though he was saying something that I could tell from this distance he'd slipped into geek mode while talking or maybe it was something about the way she was standing. It seemed normal. Average teenage posture, ears alert to whatever Donatello was saying, tail... oh boy. I seriously hope I'm wrong on cat body language because if I'm right Quinn is _not_ going to be a happy camper.

Tucking the folder safely under my arm, I set forth with the intent of taking Quinn aside for some 'girl to girl' talk. My initial goal was interrupted when the main entrance to the lair opened and Leo came in looking especially grim. He looked around the lair and took silent account of everyone, including Thatcher who had decided to hurry over and sniff the new smells Leo had brought home. Even though he was home he was still acting on guard, something was wrong.

Leo barely nodded a greeting to Casey and April before announcing to everyone, "Karai wants Quinn, but not for Dr. Elder."


	59. Quinn's girl problems

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-nine; Quinn

* * *

Our weird sparring experience was brought to the forefront of my mind again when Don started talking to me about the bow. I'd casually asked him what kind it was, and he launched into an explanation about the size and weight and string type. At first it was cool, then it was okay, and after a while or so I got bored and started watching Donnie instead of listening to him.

...That sounds really creepy. Urgh.

But honestly, his skin was really cool looking. Pebbly and olive-green. His plastron had all sorts of nicks and scars on it, and it was a sandy shade of tan, almost like a type of wood, but looked really soft. And his eyes were the warmest shade of brown and-

No. Bad Quinn. Stop it. Listen, he's explaining the impossibility that this bow could possibly function effectively in battle due to its rigidity and

Yeah, okay. Fine. Back to the eyes then. As much as I loved Don and his geekiness, the difference in intelligence between the two of us could be a little overwhelming sometimes. Just a little.

I breathed a silent sigh of relief when Leo came back, walking like the stick had been shoved even further up his posterior, making him stiff and uncomfortable. He took a brief survey of all of us. Thatcher ran up to smell whatever smells Leo had brought home with him after visiting Karai. All I had to do was take one look at Leo's expression and I knew something was up. Especially when he barely took the time to acknowledge Casey and April's presence before announcing the news from the Foot.

"Karai wants Quinn, but not for Dr. Elder."

...Ohhhkayy, and I'm the center of attention again. Lovely.

Thankfully, Leo started up again. "She says the Foot are acting as double agents, pretending to obey Dr. Elder's orders but that they want to recruit Quinn themselves."

Well, they can't have me.

"Well, they can't have her!"

I love you, Mikey.

And then Leo gave Mikey the _this-is-serious-business_ look and the smile on my face slipped off.

"They brought Quinn's _essence_ into the body made for her in this dimension by using black magic. They did not anticipate that in the dimension she came from, we would be common knowledge as cartoon characters."

Hi, feet. We really should talk like this more often.

"They had planned on her panic when meeting Dr. Elder, and had advised him to let her go if she wanted to, promising him they would watch over her and bring her back. They didn't expect to be intercepted by us on their way to pick Quinn up. And there was nothing they could do once she'd sided with us." He took a breath. "However, they're still actively pursuing Quinn. Or, at least, other mutants like Quinn, with exceptional physical abilities." Was that a compliment? "We have to be even more so on our guard now. Karai working for a client is one thing, but Karai taking up a cause on her own volition is another. She won't be giving up or backing out unless there's no other option."

"So we just gotta make sure there aren't any," Raph grunted.

"That's another thing," Leo added. "Karai seems to expect more subjects to result from Dr. Elder's genetic experimentation. And, if they can refine the process of taking souls from other dimensions, there's a very real possibility that the other subjects could be specifically chosen. Like-"

"The Shredder," Splinter said grimly. And just like that, those two words brought down the most stifling silence I'd ever experienced. My pulse thundered in my ears. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Exactly," Leo said, and the exhausted, battle-weary expression on his face was suddenly very justified.

More silence. I had to focus on breathing and not thinking about the Shredder, at least not in a serious light. I mean, this was the guy who was invented after two guys joked around about a villain using a cheese grater on his arm as a weapon. This was the guy who

_could kill you if he wanted to, it wouldn't be that hard for him. The turtles could barely do it. You remember how he_

was basically dead. Who could technically be resurrected, but still. Effectively dead.

Splinter told us that he had "much to think about" and walked back to his study with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I didn't know what to do with myself. Leo seemed to be done talking and was headed to the dojo. I felt like I should be doing something.

"Uh, hey." I looked over to see Tammy walking towards me. "This might not be the best time, but there's something I have to talk to you about." She looked a little sheepish and a little uneasy.

"Uh, sure."

She looked around. "Can we talk in my room? It's not something I think the guys need to hear."

Oh.

Oh no.

I went in first and Tammy closed the door behind herself.

"So," I said, shuffling my feet and struggling to maintain eye contact. _Please let this not be about what I think it's about. Please please please._

Tammy's eyes slid to the side. "Uh Shredder? What or who...

relaxed. Okay, okay. This I could handle.

"Shredder's the former leader of the Foot. Karai's his daughter. The turtles can never seem to get rid of him, but I think right now he's frozen in outer space or something. And he's an alien. The most recent version of him was, anyway."

Tammy stared for a second, absorbing the information before nodding. "Okay."

Her eyes slid away from mine again, but circled back around again. "So. Uh, has your cut been bothering you? Or anything?"

"Not really. I just have to be careful when I shower."

"Did you maybe fall and hurt your tail recently?"

Okay, this was getting weird. "No...?"

I could literally see her cheeks get redder as she spoke. "Have you been, uh, going to the bathroom regularly?"

All the blood drained from my face in one collective whoosh.

"I think so." Please, please, please let this not be happening. "...Why?"

She took a deep breath. "I think you may be starting your estrous cycle."

Several obscene words came to mind.

"Uh." I blinked, stared, blinked, stared. Her face was bright red. "Uh. Okay." I shook my head to clear it and breathed in and out. "Okay."

"Sorry," she muttered, "but you should know. So you can, um, prepare yourself."

Great. "Great."

We stood there awkwardly.

"So," I said finally, mercilessly beating the embarrassment away, "What should I expect?"

If possible, Tammy's face got even redder, but she seemed determined to see this through. I was glad.

"Cats usually have their cycle every two to three weeks, and it lasts about 4 to 7 days. You're part human, so I'm not sure exactly what'll happen. You should watch out for the effect your pheromones might have. On the guys."

"Woah, woah, woah. Back up. The effect my _pheromones_ might have. On _them_."

"...Yeah. I don't know what'll happen."

The air whooshed out from my lungs. "Great. Okay. Fine. I'll mentally prepare myself of something."

The conversation only went downhill from there. I won't say anything other than you had better be really close to your girl friends before you try to talk to them about Mother Nature's monthly gift. Otherwise it's just really, _really_ awkward.

We had dinner after that, and I kept glancing around the table. Was I pheromone-ing yet? The guys looked fine. Maybe it wouldn't affect them. That'd be awesome.

I jumped and banged my knee on the underside of the table when something brushed against my leg. "Motherlover," I hissed under my breath.

"Are you okay?"

I refused to look up at Donnie's face. "Uh, yeah. It's nothing."

The leg-assailant then decided to leap onto the back of my chair and rub against my neck, purring lowly.

Oh, no. This was wrong on so many levels. _I was being hit on by a cat_. Elder, wherever you are, I hope you're happy. You probably are, actually. Grr.

My eyes locked onto Tammy's. She looked as uncomfortable as I felt, and I looked back down at my meatloaf. "I'm not hungry any more." It wasn't a lie. "I'll be in my room." I stood slowly, dislodging Klunk from my person. I flashed Mikey a grin. "The food was great, Mikey. Thanks."

He nodded, looking a little odd. I tried not to think anything of it and carried my plate to the kitchen sink, then scurried off to my room. The thoughts running through my head will not be disclosed here. The embarrassment would probably kill me.

I was preparing myself for a long stint alone in my room when there was a knock at the door. I could smell Donnie from here. He smelled like Like a guy. A man. _A possible mate_, my body said.

Oh, no. No no no. This was not happening. There was no way this was happening.

"Quinn? Are you okay?"

I tried to keep calm. "Yeah, I'm fine." My voice came out sounding strangled. Damn it.

There was a pause. I tried not to breathe in his scent.

"Can I come in?"

No. No, it wasn't a good idea. He should stay out there, at a safe distance.

"Sure." Damn it, mouth. Say what I tell you to say. Don't let the hormones boss you around!

He opened the door and there was no hiding from his scent anymore. Oh, great.

He stopped a few feet away from where I was sitting on the bed.

...Come to think of it-NO. NO NO NO NO. Shut UP, hormones. You are not wanted here.

"Are you sure you're okay? You pretty much just bolted after dinner."

I took a deep breath and almost gagged on the man-smell. And it was going to be like this for up to a _week_? Shoot me now.

...Actually, you know what? No. I didn't have to put up with this. I could tell Don. I could tell Don anything. And I would.

I took a deep breath and looked up at him, locking onto his gaze. "Don. I'm part human, part cat." He looked confused. "Right?" He nodded, slowly. "And I'm a girl. So. What happens to female cats?"

The light went off behind his eyes, and as the realization dawned his face turned that dusty-red color again. "Uh. Oh."

I gave the bedspread a sheepish look. "Yeah. That. Only I'm a mutant, so it's all messed up, and well. Yeah."

Awkward silence.

Awkward silence.

Stiflingly uncomfortable silence that I can no longer tolerate.

"Uh, yeah. So, um, I'm okay, as far as I know, just going through some stuff. Yep." I nodded, refusing to look up from the quilt on the bed.

Don didn't say anything.

Finally I could take it anymore. "Donnie?" I looked up and _woah, since when had he been that close. His face was still getting closer, and-_

"Donatello!" I squeaked, just before his lips could brush mine. I pushed him away and he snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in.

Stupid, stupid pheromones. I blame you.

He stared at me, shell-shocked for a few seconds before stumbling over himself to leave. He tripped over a few unfinished apologies and said something about repairing a toaster before dashing off.

I blinked and felt myself deflate. It was going to be a wonderful week.

* * *

If the next Turtle Fanfiction contest has a most awkward chapter award; somebody nominate CheshireDreaming because she rocks at it. ;p


	60. Tammy's help

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place.

* * *

Chapter Sixty; Tammy

* * *

My luck was such that I was passing Quinn's room just in time to jump back to avoid being road kill. "Nothing!" Donnie argued before I could speak, "Absolutely nothing toaster... fix... I'm going now..." He pointed and was suddenly gone.

"But..." I had no idea what he was talking about. The toaster was working at dinner and I hadn't said anything so why was he so...? "Your phone..." He didn't answer me as I watched him duck into his lab. I'd have to give it back and thank him for letting me call my parents later.

Thoroughly confused, I glanced around, trying to figure his behavior out when I realized all too slowly that Donnie had just come out of Quinn's room. At least this proved I probably wasn't wrong. She was in -erm- _estrus_ and her pheromones probably were affecting the guys... or at the very least Donnie. Man, I could have at least found a better way to break it to her -why didn't they teach tact in college? Suppressing the urge to groan I tapped lightly on the door.

"_What?_" Wow, she managed to cram a lot of stress into that one word. The girl is talented.

"Listen," I said quietly enough for her to hear me but hopefully nobody else in the lair could. "Just try to take plenty of showers and use non-scented soap. I'll do some research and see if I can't give you some better advice, okay?"

"..._ okay..."_ She replied after a moment. I wasn't sure but I thought I heard her moving around, getting ready to take a shower perhaps.

Something brushed against my foot and I looked down to see Klunk trotting past looking like king of the litter box. He was careful to use my legs to shelter himself from Thatch's interested sniffing as he quickly made his way to Quinn's door. Nearly choking at the sight of him, I grabbed the cat and made a beeline for Mikey's room. Klunk wouldn't be happy about my shutting him in there, but at least now he wouldn't bother Quinn more than he had during dinner. After dumping the cat in his owner's room I nearly shut the door but hesitated before leaning close and whispering to the disgruntled nose poking through the crack. "You're a very nice kitty," I kept my voice positive, reassuring him with my tone of voice that he had not done wrong. "But trust me, she's just not your type. And If I catch you trying to scratch Donnie up for taking your girl I'll have words with Mikey about a declaw."

Klunk meowed in protest. "No, I will not put in a good word for you, now stay in here." I tapped his nose and when he flinched back I closed the door. He scratched a couple times and meowed angrily but I stood up and turned to leave.

"Mikey's not going to be too happy." Leo warned.

"GACK!" While I fell back against the wall and tried to stop my heart from ripping free of my chest Leo waited patiently.

"Sorry." He apologized after a few moments. "I wasn't trying to sneak up on you."

I waved off his apology. "No, by now I should be used to it... sheesh, I thought _I_ was quiet but you guys... oy."

Again he looked sheepish. "Sorry, habit." He apologized again. I'm beginning to wonder whether the stealth or the apologizing is the habit. "Um..." Change of subject in three, two, one, "Do you always talk to animals like that?"

"Yep." I nodded. "It's important to talk to animals without squeaking at them the way some people do."

"Makes sense." He agreed, looking uncomfortably at the door. Pointing half heartedly he explained, "I really don't know much about cats, but Klunk was acting really odd at dinner..."

"Catnip." I said without thinking, probably a little too fast. "Yes," As my mind caught up with my tongue I avoided the temptation to pat myself on the back. "Catnip, I had some in my pocket this morning and he must have found it in my scrub top. If he took off with it he could be acting weird for days." Okay, if Quinn was planning to live with the guys the truth would have to come out sooner or later, but I'd much rather it be later.

"That makes sense." Leo nodded. His words agreed with me but for some reason he was giving me a look like he didn't totally believe me. "And Donnie ran out of his normal coffee this morning, would you happen to know anything about how a can of decaf got in the lair?"

"Yeah, I picked it up when I went shopping last week. I didn't think it'd be a problem..."

"It's not!" Leo put his hands off as if to ward off any misunderstanding. "Not a problem, but Donnie will probably be a little off for a while." Oh good, then so far all the bases were covered. As far as anyone else needed to know; Klunk was high, Donnie was in withdrawal and Quinn was... um... showering a lot. Okay, I'll come up with an excuse for that later.

"So, would you be up to some training tomorrow?"

Training, wow, that'll be fun. I hope Quinn showers really good before and after... and... wait. Tomorrow? "Tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Since you won't be able to go to work I figured it would be an excellent time to get more major training in. You could probably start practicing with that new bow."

Work... right... crap. "Right I'll be here. Sounds good."

Clearly I hadn't sounded too enthused about the idea. "If you've decided you really don't want to learn how to fight we can cut back, just make sure you've got the basics covered." He tried to assure me quickly, he looked worried about me for some reason. "Or if you want we could pull you from the training all together-"

"No! It's fine, I love training with you guys." I interrupted. "What little I already learned really saved my butt today! I'm just tired, busy day, you know?"

He seemed reassured and sympathetic. "Right."

Mentally I heaved a sigh of relief. Good, I wasn't going to have to stop training yet. I didn't want to give that up not when I'd probably lost everything else I'd ever worked for. "Sorry about that. I'd better turn in now." Glancing at my watch made me blink. I hadn't realized it was so late, dinner must have been late, or they've been living in a different schedule than I was used to and I'd just noticed. Smiling slightly I looked back up at Leo and shot off a short little wave. "Night then."

He smiled and held up a hand as though to return the gesture. "Good night."

I headed to my room, listening to Thatcher's claws on the stone behind me as we went after closing the door behind me I changed into clothes that were far more comfortable than what I normally wore in public, but were suitable in case I had to do some night wandering in a house filled with guys. After changing I toyed with the idea of trying to do some reading before going to sleep but gave up when nothing interested me and lay down on the cot. Thatcher quickly jumped up to join me so I scratched his head as I stared at the ceiling.

Huh.

No work tomorrow.

There was no way I could go back there now, not with the Foot looking for Quinn and knowing I knew where she was

I'll probably just lie low in the lair until it's safe to go home again they probably don't even need me around anyway I'm sure Mikey would be glad not to have to fight me over the kitchen anymore Donnie wouldn't have to share his lab and Leo would probably be relieved not to have to watch over me anymore Raph will be annoyed at having to share Quinn with all four of his brothers but he's made it clear that having one geek speaker in the place is bad enough... I'm sure Quinn will be more than pleased not to go through any more awkward announcements and who knows? I probably stink of Dr. Elder. She'd be glad to be rid of that.

As for work... I'll probably have to go back home and get my last credit working at a local clinic... living at home... dealing with senior technicians and puffed-up vets... It would be a good thing too, back home, away from the city, nice and calm... no crazy boss, no ninja after me... no clones... nor genetic splicing... no... oh no...

Grunting under the weight of Thatch's head on my chest, I quickly brushed at the moisture trying to gather enough momentum to trail down my face. I'd done enough of that at the club thank you, more than enough for today.

Turning on my side, I grumbled a light complaint when Thatcher stubbornly cuddled up to my back, ensuring yet another night unable to move. Several minutes passed before I rolled over, draping one arm over Thatch's folded wings and falling asleep with his warm breath on my face.


	61. Quinn still not sleeping

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-one; Quinn

* * *

After Tammy's advice, I took to the shower like my life depended on it. Afterwards, I ran back to my room like there were Foot ninja on my heels.

I couldn't sleep that night.

Which isn't to say I didn't try-I'd counted sheep, lain there with the lights off for what seemed like an eternity, counted to a hundred. But for whatever reasons-_damn you_, hormones-I was utterly unable to get some shut-eye.

After a few hours, I started to get bored. Really, _really_ bored. I'd already counted all the bricks in the room-there were 326-hung up the poster of Sylar that Tammy had bought for me-he was now sitting pretty on the left wall-and brushed my tail half a dozen times; it now shone like silk.

There was nothing, _nothing_ to do. Leaving the room was certainly not an option; doing so made me run the risk of seeing one of the guys.

Well, more specifically, Donnie. He was the only one who'd be up at an hour like this. Not that I knew what hour it was, but it sure felt like the middle of the night.

It seemed like forever as I lay there waiting for time to pass. I had to remind myself constantly that leaving was not an option. Time passed like molasses; whatever I did between then and morning is a blur.

Finally, _finally_, the wait was over. The sounds and smells of the lair starting up its morning routine filtered through the cracks between my door and its frame and I breathed a short sigh of relief before reminding myself that this was far from the end of it.

I waited for as long as was possible, just listening to the sounds of the turtles, Tammy, Splinter, and a certain dragon-dog waking up. Eventually, though, Mikey knocked on my door.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" he called, and I could hear the grin in his voice. I stifled a giggle. "P_aaaaaa_ncakes!" he trilled, and this time I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

"Aha! So you are awake. Well, I demand you come out at ONCE!"

"Not helping, Mikey," I choked out in between guffaws. Have I mentioned I laugh like the result of an unholy union between a witch and a gofer? "Can't…breathe…"

Ever stayed up really, really late? By 2 AM (or later), _everything_ is funny to your addled brain.

"I'll be out in a second!" I managed to get out, slowly coming down from my giggle-high.

"We shall eagerly await your arrival, fair damsel!" I could practically see him in a lord's garb, bowing and giving a flip of his extremely well-plumed hat.

"And you as well, good sir knight!" I called after him. It should be noted that when I get no sleep, things get a little crazy.

Mike chuckled and moved away. The smell of food was overpowering by then, and my stomach was grumbling readily, reminding me that I had consumed less than a remotely acceptable amount of food during last night's dinner. I reminded it that I was the one calling the shots. It responded with a rather loud growl. I scowled at it and stood, heading for the door.

Just before I could open it, I ran over Tammy's guidelines in my head. Plenty of showers, check. Non-scented soap, check. Living with a bunch of guys was not exactly conducive to having raspberry-scented shampoo. I'd have to talk to April about that. Or maybe Tammy. Hmmm.

I shook my head to clear it, took a deep breath for resolve, and strode out of my room with all the confidence of a rabbit surrounded by hunting dogs.

It did not help matters that Klunk glued himself to me as soon as I left the room. I froze for a second before bolting for the kitchen table in an attempt to shake him.

The guys and Tammy stared at me with wide eyes as I slammed into an open chair. "_Heyguyswhat'sup_?" I asked breathlessly, looking around to see if Klunk was in pursuit yet. I couldn't see him, but I could smell him. Dammit.

There were eggs and toast and bacon and I couldn't have been happier. I took a decent helping of each and tried to chomp through them as quickly as possible so that I could minimize the amount of time spent in the vicinity of Klunk, Cat Stalker Extraordinaire.

I was relieved to see Don wasn't at the table. That made things considerably less awkward.

I managed to finish breakfast just as Klunk made his entrance, strolling towards the table. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. Not at all.

I shot a hasty "_thankyou_!" at Mikey before making a break for the bathroom to take yet another shower. I was probably breaking some kind of record with my showering speed, too. And possibly also the speed of my retreat to my room.

Once again, brushing my tail proved to be therapeutic, which was good because it was all too soon before Leo knocked and announced that it was almost time for training.

Ha. Ha ha.

I tried desperately to think of a way out of it, but I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't raise a few eyebrows. And telling them the truth was out of the question.

So I found myself trudging down to the dojo, focusing very hard on breathing evenly and not thinking about the impending training session. Not to mention the session I'd had with Don earlier-FOCUS.

I got to the dojo just in time to see the tail end of the turtles' exercises.

Part of my brain said that watching them was a very, very bad idea. The rest of it said that this was too hot to miss. I mean, _dayumn_. Emphasis on the yum. All the mental slaps in the world couldn't've stopped my train of thought from chugging down that track. Especially when it came to Don. The way he was wielding that stick of his…mmm.

…Oh, God, this needs to stop. _Please_, brain.

The answer was a resounding no as my eyes remained glued to Don as he sparred with Mikey. He won the fight, too, which definitely didn't help matters for my hormone-addled brain.

Our eyes met when the turtles were done with their exercises, and we stared at each other for a period of time my riddled brain couldn't identify before snapping out of it and looking away. As I did so, I caught sight of Tammy's expression, and I could feel myself blushing like crazy.

The training session wasn't any better. I was partnered with Mikey, a small blessing as he was probably the least likely of the turtles to make the situation worse, but Don was still training Tammy. He'd tried to get out of it, citing plans for a new method of transportation and the need to construct Tammy's shell cell, etc. etc., but Leo hadn't let him escape.

So there we were, only a few yards away from each other, and I was trying desperately to focus on what Mikey was saying, only to fail miserably every time Don instructed Tammy on how to hold her jō this way or shift her angle of attack that way. I got next to nothing done, until, probably sensing my distraction, Mikey said that the two of us could spar if I wanted.

Why, yes. I did indeed want. Thank you, Mikey, for giving me an outlet for my frustration. Kind of wished I'd thought to trim my nails again beforehand, though. They were turning back into claws.

As soon as he said we could start, I threw myself at him, kicking at his plastron and knocking him back a few paces. A small, still-rational part of my brain said _stop, you're going to lose it!_ and the rest of it said _too late_.

I agreed wholeheartedly with the latter.

I feinted a swing to his jaw and, when he raised an arm to block it, I slipped around to his back and jumped on his back, knocking him to the ground. He caught himself on his hands and pushed back up, forcing me to hold on for dear life. He shook me off with a series of handsprings. After that, it was just the two of us trying to get as many hits on each other as possible. We were both grinning like idiots the entire time, and I could practically feel the worry and stress lifting from my shoulders with each jab and kick.

I lost when he got me into an inescapable headlock, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fun we'd had, and that I felt loads better.

Even if everyone was looking at me funny. And Don wasn't looking at all.


	62. Tammy gets grounded

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-two; Tammy

* * *

Quinn startled me a little when she came out of her room more than a little slap-happy, but since nobody was staring at me I'm keeping to the assumption that the tights incident was a dream and nobody-repeat _nobody_- remembered it other than me. There are some things I sincerely wish my subconscious couldn't conjure up. I don't even _like_ ballet.

Quinn ate a good deal of breakfast before she disappeared into the shower. As far as I could tell Raph and Mikey bought the catnip story and were only staring at her because she was acting so jumpy- please let it stay that way… for one thing it would make everything so much easier. Leo still seemed skeptical, even as he supported me in my lie. Donnie was… upset. He was drinking the decaf coffee like it was regular without making so much as a slight face at the difference and heaven forbid he should so much as glance at Quinn.

After breakfast the guys ran through their training. They were in top form as far as I could tell, but Mikey started singing something in Japanese and Donnie got mad. He sort of reminded me of a Georgia guy I once knew, the kind that get silent when they get mad and the next thing you knew;

"Augh!" Mikey grunted as he hit the floor.

… next thing you knew they'd made you regret making them mad. Quinn came out in time to see Donnie win, but not in time to see his shift in fighting. Okay; Quinn likes Donnie, so he's the one she's really got to avoid, but I was beginning to wonder if the infatuation wasn't entirely mutual. Donnie seemed to be the only one acting differently so unless Quinn had done something really dumb he was the only -erm- he and _Klunk_ were the only ones affected.

When it was finally our turn to train Donnie tried to get out of it. I was a little insulted but considering the weird run-in I had with him last night it was pretty understandable. Finally Leo explained that he had to talk to Master Splinter, effectively threatening Don -more me than him but still- that if Donnie didn't teach me Raph would. The mere thought nearly killed me on the spot and Donnie agreed.

We started off with jo practice. Donnie was more attentive to my technique and spent a great deal of time correcting me until I could get the best possible force behind each attack without leaving myself open.

We made a lot of progress and probably would have made a lot more if he hadn't been so determined to keep his back to Quinn. It was getting more and more annoying because firstly it was probably behind his suggestion for jo practice and secondly because it forced me into a position where I could easily see Mikey and Quinn sparing. Frankly, watching Quinn is very discouraging. The girl is so good at this it's frightening, sometimes I swear it's like she already knows this and is just a little rusty.

"Come on Tammy, focus." Donnie advised.

"Hey Don, how ya gonna teach her if ya don't move?" Raph called from the sidelines.

Donnie sighed, letting out his own frustration before suggesting. "Do you want to try something else? Like kyudo or shuriken?"

"Sure." I lowered my practice staff. An idea occurred to me and I waited a moment before suggesting it. "What about… how about trying out that English bow? It's archery practice."

Donnie hesitated but I watched with delight as his curiosity took over. "That should be okay." He agreed.  
I shot off a wave to Raph who shook his head and made a gesture I took to mean 'go, make him teach you something' before turning his attention to Quinn and Mikey's third match.

I quickly jogged to the armory and retrieved my extra gear for archery as well as the bow and some practice arrows before joining Don in the firing range. Don pointed me to a target and instructed, "Have at it."

"You don't want to try?" I asked, quickly tying on the gear.

He shook his head. "I've never used an English bow, it wouldn't be the best idea without at least having some instruction."

"It's not hard." I explained. "Almost exactly like the yumi but held in the middle and drawn with two fingers." I demonstrated, taking position and holding the bow loosely in my left hand. With my right I drew and arrow. "Simply nock," I nocked the arrow. "Lift," In a smooth gesture I lifted the bow, holding the arrow in position with the index and middle finger, "Draw back to your jaw, further if the draw is light…" I drew back the string with the same two fingers I supported the bow with, unlike the three used for the yumi. I had to suppress the urge to grunt at the draw strength fought me. It was a good resistance, well above comfortable, but still within my ability. "… aim…" by now I was instructing myself more than Donnie.

Carefully I sighted along the arrow shaft, trying to get the same line-up I got on my twenty-two iron sights. Something nagged at the back of my mind and I aimed just to the left of the bull's eye. Breath in, and… release.

Once again I was struck by the sound of the string releasing and vibrating. The note it made was higher than the yumi and much more staccato. For a moment I was so distracted by the sound of the bow I didn't bother to look for where my arrow had gone.

"Hey!" Donnie cheered, sounding up beat for the first time all day. "Alright!"

"Not bad." Leo compliment as he walked up behind us.

"An impressive shot." I heard Master Splinter add but I was in too much shock to respond or turn to look at him.

The arrow had hit the target… the one I was _aiming_ for… it had struck about halfway between the target circle and the right edge so I'd hit pretty good. "I hit the target." I said, sounding as bright as a broken lamp.

After a moment I managed to close my mouth. Quickly I glanced to the sides to make sure nobody was in the hot zone of the firing range before pulling another arrow from the quiver and trying again.

Nock, lift, draw, aim, breath…

Again the bowstring sang to me and again I struck the target, this time I came several inches closer to the target area than the previous arrow, proving that my luck wasn't luck, I was actually able to hit the target!

"Lookin' good!" Raph called, having sensed some excitement and come to see the cause.

"Perhaps you are more comfortable with an English style bow." Master Splinter nodded. "If you wish, you should continue training with this bow."

All I was able to do was keep smiling happily. I was feeling so good it was only a slight dampener on my high when Leo mentioned something about Raph having more experience with strength training and possibly turning me over to him for a few lessons.

After that everyone returned to their previous activities. Leo went to watch Quinn and Mikey spar for a bit, Raph and Donnie stepped aside and discussed the benefits of incorporating weight training into both of us girls' schedules. Master Splinter moved to the side of where I was standing.

"Could you draw and release another arrow?" He asked.

I nodded, wondering what he wanted. Once again I ran through my paces, taking each step slowly so as not to rush. Nock, lift, draw, aim, breath, release. This third arrow struck slightly higher than the previous arrow and slightly further in. Master Splinter stepped forward and gave me some advice, altering my stance slightly and showing me a different angle to hold my bow arm at. Then he had me draw the string without an arrow. A couple more slight corrections and I was allowed to slowly ease off of the string, then draw another arrow for a fourth shot.

This one hit just outside of the target circle and even better; it felt easier on the shoulder of my bow arm. For several minutes after that I was made to practice the stance, drawing on the bow string and receiving minor corrections before being instructed to ease tension on the string and lower the bow. By the time Master Splinter announced that he believed that would be enough for the moment both of my shoulders were killing me as well as the fingers of my drawing hand and the wrist and elbow of my bow hand.

Still, I had four arrows in the target telling me I was finally doing okay at something.

Master Splinter had gone to tell Mikey and Quinn to take a break. I hurried to the kitchen and filled some glasses with ice water to take out to everyone. When I returned to the dojo Quinn seemed a lot more alert and in better spirits than she'd been in earlier. Maybe that had something to do with Thatcher 'treeing' Klunk on top of a large cabinet or simply the exercise. Donnie had vanished somewhere, apparently one of his excuses finally getting him freed to his lab.

I passed out the glasses, receiving some grateful thanks and a "Gracias dudette." While we refreshed ourselves Raph made the mildly terrifying announcement that after the break he would be teaching both Quinn and I how to use free weights and set standards for us to train by. I didn't bother whining about how much I already hurt, the thought of him making some kind of 'feel the burn' speech made me hurt worse.

Once the water was gone I took everything back to the kitchen. Although the load was lighter and easier to deal with Leo took a couple glasses and followed me. Once in the kitchen I soaked a rag in soap and water and used it to wipe down the glasses, then rinse them off and put them aside to dry. Rather than Leave the glasses and return to the dojo Leo grabbed a rag and started drying dishes.

"Tamm, I know we're asking a lot of you, and I can't say how much we appreciate all your help…"

I shot him and amused look, "That's never a start of a good conversation." I quipped.

He smiled grimly and pressed on. "I'm going to have to make another request of you."

"Fire away."

"It would be best if you stayed down here."

I shook my head as I washed the last glass out. "I'm already staying here. Didn't we have this conversation a couple nights ago?"

"That's not what I meant." Leo sounded serious, like he'd fallen back into that mood he was in last night. Putting the cup aside, I looked to him to clarify exactly what he did mean. "It would be best if you don't go topside at all. Definitely not for work, but not for shopping or anything else either, not unless Master Splinter or I am with you."

I put the rag in the sink and turned the water on to rinse it out before turning to face Leo. "Are you grounding me?" I asked, incredulous.

"Not exactly. This is for your protection, as well as Quinn's." He looked as if he were braced for a fight. I didn't have one, it wasn't like I had any reason to head up to street level, but the whole concept was confusing.

"Why do I get the increasing feeling that you're not telling me something important?"

"It's difficult to explain." He said, as if to end the conversation.

"Try me."

"Really, it would be easier if I didn't…"

"No, it would be easier if you just told me."

He frowned.

I glared.


	63. Quinn sleep deprived

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-three; Quinn

* * *

I was so elated from my sparring with Mikey that nothing could get to me. I felt like dancing around the lair and singing at the top of my lungs. My last shred of sanity told me this was probably a bad idea, so I didn't, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Even Don's ignoring me couldn't put a damper on my mood.

…Well, maybe a little. But only a little! A smidgen of a damper.

Raph's mandatory proposition of hand weight training was also less than thrilling, but I could push past even that.

I didn't notice Tammy's sudden mood change until we sat down on a bench next to each other to do reps with the weights.

"So," I said, quietly so the guys-hopefully-couldn't hear. "What's up?"

"My blood pressure, I bet," she said flatly. There was a slight pause before she changed the subject. "What's your feelings on the... supernatural?"

I had to pause and give that some thought. I wasn't religious, by any means, or spiritual, but after all this… "I don't know. Anything's possible now, I guess."

"'Now' as in after you…got here?"

"Yeah." I stared at the far wall. This train of thought was rousing some serious questions. If my consciousness had been transferred to this body, was it possible that I was awake in my original body? Was I in a coma?

Was I dead?

"Jesus Christ," I muttered, and immediately felt the brunt of Tammy's glare. "And I say that in a very atheist way."

"What?"

I shook my head. "This whole experience is really trippy. I don't even want to think about what's going on with my original body." Frankly, the fact that I even had to differentiate between the two bodies I'd inhabited was unnerving.

Realizing this might rouse concern, I rushed to make sure I sounded emotionally and mentally stable. "I'm fine, though." I winced inwardly at the poor choice of words, given their track record. "I mean, I feel fine. Emotionally and physically. It's just weird to think that I could be in two places. Physically, at least. And the place I'm in now is inhabited predominantly by what I'd thought were cartoon characters. Not to mention the fact that my current body's part cat. And I'm supposed to be the Cheshire Cat, which is funny because I've always liked Alice in Wonderland, and the Cheshire Cat in particular, but now I'm supposed to actually _be_ him and I just think it's so _weird_." A strange little giggle escaped before I could stop it. Stop, hormones, _stop_! "I mean, I was always bonkers, but this is just _insane_." Again with the giggles. Come _on_, brain. Reel it in! "I mean…man, this is ridiculous. Positively preposterous!" Okay, seriously, brain? This isn't even funny. Now is not a good time to openly show how crazy we are.

"…Are you okay?" Tammy sounded…worried. And with good reason.

"Oh, I'm perfectly peachy!" Again with the giggles. I was too far gone to care. "I daresay, devilishly divine! Vivaciously vivid! Ecstatic, even!"

"Okay, no. There's definitely something wrong with you." She was now giving me the look that I had grown accustomed to, the _where-are-the-men-from-the-funny-farm-when-you-need-them_ look.

"Oh, no. I assure you, I was like this before I was brought here. I'm just having bit off an day." I smiled brilliantly at her. My brain was waving its little white flag in defeat.

Her look had progressed to something along the lines of _does-anyone-have-a-straightjacket-handy_.

"I would retreat to my room to sit this spell out, but it occurs to me that this would most likely not solve the problem, or help to convince any of you of my mental sanity. Which I will concede I'm not doing a spectacular job of at the moment, anyway, but holing myself up would, more likely, make me stir crazy and that is something I would not particularly look forward to given that I have spent a duly long period of time there already last night and this morning. It's also quite possible that I'm sleep deprived. That would explain some of this." By the time my weary brain caught up to what I was saying, I was kicking it. _Stopstopstopstopstop!_

"Uh…huh." Tammy's eyes flickered over to Raph, who was watching the two of us with a raised eye ridge. Well, okay, that was probably just for me, given the _is there a problem?_ tone it seemed to carry.

Finally, _finally_ I regained control of my misfiring brain and reigned it in, taking advantage of the opportunity to put in a sane word on my behalf. "…Seriously, though. I'm fine. This just happens sometimes, when I'm under…um, stress…and stuff like that. It's normal for me. To get a little hysterical and crazy-ish sometimes, I mean." Linguistics at 65% and failing, cap'n!

Tammy stared at me for a second before giving me a slow nod. "If you're sure." Her expression told me that she wasn't quite ready to believe me without further investigation, but that was okay. As long as she wasn't going to sic Raph or Leo-or worse, Splinter-on me, I was happy. Well, satisfied, at the least.

It then occurred to me that I'd been lifting the hand weights for so long that my arms were shaking and straining to continue lifting the weights. Tammy was doing considerably better, and judging by her slightly slower pace, she'd been smart enough to pace herself. I slowed down until I was lifting the weights just a less quickly than she was. My arms were still grousing about my hasty approach to the exercise. I kindly told them to shut the hell up. Because I was dealing with more than enough right now even without complaints from a pair of arms, thank you very much.

I swore to myself that after this, I was going to get some rest.


	64. Tammy further restricted

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place... Hi Quinn!

* * *

Chapter Sixty-four; Tammy

* * *

"And done." Donnie's announcement lacked the usual zest I'd come to expect when he'd done something requiring his particular brand of genius. He was still being too quiet and easily embarrassed and it was driving me nuts. "So far there has been no unusual contact with anyone in the file." Don explained, reading off a printout. "It looks like Leo's prediction that Karai's threat was nothing but a bluff might have been right but I'll keep an eye out just in case."

I smiled. "Thanks Don, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your doing this."

"Oh... and your student loans are due for payment starting in March of next year." This turtle is king of killing a good mood.

Great effort was required in not glaring at him as I replied. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

I soon left Don's lab and headed for the kitchen where Mikey was snooping around the food I was preparing for dinner. "Stop feeding the dragon." I scolded as he dropped a spinach leaf from the salad down to where Thatcher was happily crunching on more of the dark green bits.

Mikey glanced from me, down to Thatcher, then back to the salad bowl that was waiting to go in the fridge until this evening. I knew what he was going to do even before that grin spread across his face. He reached for the salad bowl as I called out brightly, "Thatcher! Tunnel!"

Thatcher gave a happy yap, eager to go for a walk. He responded to this call the same way he'd been doing the last couple of days by giving his body a brisk shake, distracting Mikey from the salad just long enough for Thatch to finish his shake with that odd motion of pushing his wings out. One of them launched out a good three and a half feet, half of his current wingspan. The other wing expanded about a half meter before it hit an obstacle and retracted slightly as the 'obstacle' yelped in pain. While Mikey rubbed at his leg and whimpered Thatcher gave him a confused look before retracting his wings fully and hurrying over to my side, yapping some more and jumping up on my thigh as if to make sure I wasn't going to forget about my offer.

Together we headed out into the tunnels. I was careful to stay within a certain distance of the Lair to avoid getting lost and even managed to get Thatcher to use the dead end I'd found for him to do his business in. He went in and sniffed around while I waited just outside and let my thoughts drift.

Mysticism. That's what Leo had told me about in the kitchen this morning. He acted like he expected me to laugh him off or something but I'd grown up in a church that warned against such things, it was real to me. I didn't know how much the Foot clan's mystics might be capable of in the mystical sense, but I knew that people who dabbled in such things tended to be nasty. Far Eastern mysticism wasn't known for being as sadistic and twisted as, say, voodoo, but the thought of having those practices turned on me made my blood run cold, made me want to move.

Thatcher pawed at my leg, bringing me back to my senses. For a while we played around, I chased him, he chased me, it was fun. On our way back Thatcher bit my pant leg and pulled, starting a difficult round of tug-of-war which I lost when he pulled me off balance and I ended up on the floor. He pounced and I struggled to win the wrestling match that followed. It took effort but finally he was on the floor, pinned on his back and happily being tortured with a thorough belly scratching. His wings stretched out in the tunnel, well over a seven foot span. It was strange, I'd measured his original wing span and it wasn't even six foot, yet it had increased this much over the weekend. This called for closer watch on his diet and growth.

Finally I stopped scratching and stood up. "Ouch." The comment referred both to the pain and stiffness clinging to my body after that morning's training and to the raw feeling my fingers now had from scratching at his stomach. Like the majority of his wings; Thatcher's belly was loosely covered with small scales with the skin between the scales clearly visible when the skin stretched. It was one of the few spots he could feel getting scratched now that his scales were hardening up.

After I stopped petting him Thatcher gave me a sad look. Despite having entirely lost the sad-dog baggy skin to tight, scaly skin his look of abandonment pulled on the heartstrings just as strongly. "Oh get up. Time to go." I told him. He pulled his wings in and I could see him take a breath before regaining his feet, hopping slightly to get off his cumbersome wings.

We headed back to the lair straight on from there. I checked to make sure we weren't leaving tracks before entering the tunnel with the door to the lair. Once we were inside Thatch ran ahead. I thought he was headed for the kitchen to see if Mikey was still giving scraps but then he stopped in the dining area... and sniffed at one of the legs of the kitchen table.

"Oh no... THATCH NO!"

Too late. That dog was either dumber than a rusty doornail or just determined to make me spend the rest of my life... no, to make _someone_ spend the rest of their life cleaning after him. It might not be me.

"Where were you?"

I jumped and mentally cursed all ninja everywhere before answering Leo. "Taking Thatcher for a walk, he had to go out."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Leo's question caught me off guard. "What?"

He had an extremely serious look on his face. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" Leo repeated sternly.

I had to shove aside the defensive feeling welling up in my gut. Technically Mikey had known but, "I didn't think anyone wanted to be pestered with me checking in every time Thatcher has to go out."

Why was he acting like this? He had his feet spaced out and hands on his side. It was probably a habit from needing to keep his brothers in line but the fact that he wasn't easing up was bugging me. "You really should have somebody go with you."

"We were only in the tunnels, never more than a couple blocks off." I explained.

"You should still have somebody with you."

An alarm went off in the back of my mind, warning me that if I wasn't careful this would turn ugly. "I've figured out the nearest tunnels, Leo. I wasn't about to get lost and I didn't go anywhere near street level." Despite my efforts to keep my tone light some defensiveness was slipping into my tone.

"Still, you should have someone with you."

I crossed my arms, physically copying the mental binding of the anger and other emotions trying to boil up from the pit of my stomach. _Stay calm._ "Okay, let me see if I have it all: no apartment, no street level unless you or Master Splinter are with me, and no tunnels without an escort." Heat was trickling across my face. Before long my skin would probably be beet red but there wasn't much I could do to stop it.

"Yes." He said.

_Breathe in, breathe out. Calm, collected._ "Right." Without waiting for a response I turned and headed for my room. Thatcher finished marking the table and trotted along behind me to see if I was going anywhere interesting.

In my room I watched as Thatcher circled around, sniffing as if the area were new to him. Once he'd looked over everything he hopped up onto the cot and turned in a quick circle before settling down, wings twitching slightly as they searched for a position to rest in. Once he'd settled Thatch took a deep breath and let it out in a contented doggy sigh. No sooner had he settled down than he suddenly perked up, listened intently for a moment, then jumped off the cot and darted out of the room.

I stood in the same spot I'd been standing in for the last few seconds listening to the empty room.

Leo's restraints were understandable. It would be dangerous to everyone if I was left unguarded. Quinn needed protection and I had to be willing to provide it. It wasn't like I was being held against my will it was just...

I only...

I was shaking and before I'd even thought of doing so my fist struck the stone wall beside me. Pain tore through my hand like shattering glass and slivered up my arm until I could feel it in my shoulder and back, but that only added to my frustration. My gut was telling me to go.

Run.

Fight.

The air around me felt almost chilled as blood continued to rush though my body. Consciously I shook it off and moved to my cot with the intention of studying but I never bothered to pick up the textbook after sitting down. Instead I just shoved my fingers into my hair and leaned back against the wall. My mind was in a paradoxical confusion of absolute focus. I was acutely aware of every detail in the room but unable to focus on things like tracking my thoughts or a simple prayer for serenity.

After several minutes I kicked my legs off the cot and stood up full of intention but stopped when I realized I had nothing to do. Lunch had passed quietly, Dinner was already either done or in the oven, somebody had been in the bathroom when I'd passed it earlier and that left...

"Fine." I muttered, grabbing my gear and jo. If nothing else I could work off some of this energy practicing. Maybe I could pester somebody into teaching me a new kata or standing still while I beat the living daylights out of them.


	65. Quinn around the lair

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place... Hi Quinn!

* * *

Chapter Sixty-five; Quinn

* * *

You know what? I would love to give Mother Nature a punch in the face.

Trust me, if you were a mutant pink-and-purple half-calf with aching arms who was going through her cycle and thus had to isolate herself despite her want for company, you'd want to slug her too.

Add sleep deprivation-something I'd thought I was used to by now-onto that and you have one mean kitty. Or at least a very frustrated one.

Sitting alone in my room while waiting for my arms to stop whining was proving to be utterly infuriating. I was not a patient person, and the process was as slow as it was tedious.

I tried stretches and some of the yoga poses Mikey had tried to show me, but a lot of them required the aid of my arms, which was something they were not too keen on providing. Ugh.

Another thing that was bothering me was how long I'd gone without music. I'd only just noticed it, and now that I had it was driving me crazy. I loved music. Back in my old life (what exactly was I supposed to call it, anyway?) I'd listened to it 24/7, and now I was going through withdrawal.

I resolved to fix this problem.

Going down to request computer access (and thus access to youtube) from Donnie was out of the question. Raph was...also out of the question, for various reasons. Some of which were his testosterone and pheromone production. Leo...well. I doubted he had an iPod, or any other form of music-producing electronic implement. And if he did, I doubted I'd like the songs on it. Which left the most probable option: Mikey.

Not only was he the most compatible with technology out of the three not-Dons, but he was also the most likely to like the kind of songs I liked-we'd already proven similar in terms of interests. And I doubted he'd have a problem with lending his mp3 player to me.

I made a beeline for Mikey's scent, which indicated he was in his room.

...With Klunk. Oh frabjous day. Callooh. Callay.

I took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in!"

I took another deep breath and walked in as carefully as I could, wary of Klunk. He was on Mikey's lap, getting the petting of his life. I could only hope he'd stay distracted long enough for me to make an escape.

Mikey grinned. "Hey, Quinn! What's up?"

"," I said, the words rushing out all in one breath.

Mikey blinked, processing the slurred sentence. "Oh, yeah, sure." He lifted Klunk off his lap and went to rummage around in the drawer of his bedside table. He emerged with what looked like a suped-up iPod. Don's hand in its creation was obvious. Don...NO. _FOCUS_.

Klunk was already starting his strut across the floor towards me, and I tried to edge towards the door.

Mikey held out the iPod. "Here." He gave me a goofy grin. "Hope you like dance music."

I gave him a rushed smile, eyes flickering between him and the approaching Klunk. "Uh, yeah! I do. Thank you!" I snatched the iPod and made a hasty retreat to my room, hoping that Klunk hadn't followed. I looked over my shoulder and saw he hadn't, and those two deep breaths came whooshing back out.

Even better, I realized that my arms had finally recovered. There was an extra skip in my step as I headed down to the dojo to run through my kata. And maybe after that I'd have a go at the punching bag.

I was even happier to see that the dojo was empty. I set about wrapping my hands and going through Mikey's iPod-thing to find songs I liked.

Jeez, I hadn't been far off when I'd thought we had similar tastes. Mikey had dance, techno, pop, electro, rave...I found a playlist of Ke$ha songs and laughed as an image of Mikey dancing to Tik Tok came to mind. Luckily, Mikey used specially made headphones instead of earbuds, and they worked for my cat ears too, apparently. I pulled them on, set the iPod on play and got pumped for what started out as a kata and dissolved into something along the lines of a freestyle dance with weapons. Mostly just me being silly and punching and swinging at the air with my tekko. It was _way_ too much fun to rock out to Blah Blah Blah and mess with potentially deadly objects.

The little weapons-romp was rendered significantly less enjoyable when a warm, furry, male creature brushed against my leg.

"_OHmygod_," I breathed, jumping a foot in the air and scrambling backwards. "Ohhhkay not cool. Not cool not cool. Get away!" I tried nudging him with my foot, but it wasn't really working-he just evaded it and eventually hopped onto my bare foot, nuzzling my ankle. I could feel the panic mounting. "Nonononogetoff _get off_," I squeaked, uselessly shaking my leg as Klunk did an excellent impression of a barnacle. He probably just thought this was part of the courtship or something.

By then I'd progressed to more vivid language, swearing like a sailor.

My leg was starting to hurt, but if I stopped I knew he'd make his way to my shoulder and start rubbing my face. So leg shaking it was.

The smell of one of the turtles-I was too frantic to identify him further-approached and I turned towards them, desperate. "Help!"

By the time I realized it was Donnie, it was too late. He was already hurrying over to grapple with Klunk, bringing his scent closer and closer until it was overwhelming. "Hey, whoa! Hold still, I'll get him off."

I just moaned, too frustrated and worked up to form words.

"Okay, let me get you off of-Hey!" Don reeled back at Klunk hissed and swiped viciously at him. "What the shell!"

Don fixed the bristling cat with an unreadable look. "Let go."

Klunk gave another swipe, detaching himself from me this time to do so. I fell back onto the tatami mats.

"Are you okay?" Don's gaze shifted to me, and the worry in them made my breath hitch.

Klunk chose this moment to throw himself onto Don. Suddenly he was clawing and biting and I wanted to help, I really did. But I couldn't. I had to watch.

I really, really hoped this had nothing to do with the whole "in heat" thing.

But as Don knocked Klunk out with his bō, I knew I wasn't so lucky.

Don left-to hide Klunk, most likely-and I was left stunned on the floor. I tried to focus on breathing and slowing my heart rate back to normal, but then Don entered the dojo again and I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Uh," he said, looking anywhere but me. "I, um. Wanted to apologize. For before with the...you know...and stuff." His cheeks were turning that rusty red again. It was...kind of adorable.

The giggle slipped out before I could stop it, and it drew his attention.

Our eyes met and I swear to you, that thing people say about getting lost in someone's eyes? It's possible. It's totally possible.

Don seemed to snap out of it, though, ending the little moment and hustling out of there with a few rushed "sorry"s tossed over his shoulder.

The song 'Disgusting' came on, and I laughed at the irony of it. Just couldn't catch a break, could I?

Eventually I gathered myself up and had a go at the punching bag. Tammy walked in not too long after, looking spitting mad and ready to beat at least one living being up. Her eyes landed on me, and I knew I was done for.


	66. Tammy's call

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and the person responsible for this story ever coming into being in the first place... Hello kitty! *is shot*

* * *

Chapter Sixty-six; Tammy

* * *

One moment I was on solid ground the next my feet were in the air and a blow to my stomach sent me crashing to the floor. In an instant my opponent had a knee on my chest, fist up.

I slapped the floor. "I give! I give!"

Quinn stood up and offered a hand. I took a moment to catch my breath before accepting. At least by this time I'd started going numb so it didn't really hurt. "Three out of three." I noted, not surprised in the least. Normal people would look much more pleased at this, she just looked like she was either nervous, about to laugh, or about to hit the floor and not move for twelve hours. Im seriously hoping she opts for the last one because bags are starting to form under her somewhat bloodshot eyes. "Youre starting to worry me."

She grinned a little sheepishly. "Uh... sorry?" Her expression didn't tell me whether or not shed understood what I meant.

"When was the last time you slept?" I added somewhat sternly; "And don't lie to me."

"Uh..." Quinn didnt seem to think all that long before stating. "Can't remember."

I couldnt help it as I glared at her a little, she continued to grin ruefully and cringed slightly. After a moment I just sighed, trying to dump the last of my tension and negative feelings out through that breath of air. It wasn't her fault I was angry.

_I am not angry!_

Hoping to stay away from sounding presumptuous or chastising I turned and headed for where I'd dropped my gear before we'd begun sparring. "You really do need sleep. I thought the nightmares had stopped?"

Quinn had followed me and made a slight face either from the conversation or the exertion on her tired body as she leaned down to pick up her own things. "Well, I guess they have, but I haven't really been able to, uh, sleep lately. The last time was-" She stood up and this time seemed to put serious effort into remembering as she strapped her tekku into place. Suddenly her ears perked and she looked up. "-oh."

"Oh? Oh crap, oh yeah, oh no, oh _what_?" I was sure her fur was either coming in thicker or she was blushing to make the purple and pink stand out more prominently on her face.

"Uh, this is going to sound really stupid, but I think I can't fall asleep alone."

Wow. I knew Don and Quinn were getting along and I was pretty sure they liked each other but- _Shut up._

"Uh... right..." Okay, so pretend to be a professional for a minute... It makes sense that having someone with her would chase the nightmares away, child logic and all. It made sense... So... she needed company to sleep, but it probably wasn't a good idea for her to be around the guys for a couple days so... _I don't know! Fix her a mickey and call it good._ Shut up.

"Listen. I've got to take a shower. I'll talk to you later okay? Maybe we can figure something out about you getting a good night of sleep then?"

Quinn looked uncertain, but my brain just wasn't thinking right now. I wasn't capable of mildly intelligent conversation right now, much less having something valuable to add to the conversation I'd started myself.

I left the dojo and grabbed a quick shower, then confined myself to my room until such a time as I could act normally. The sparring with Quinn and the shower had helped me to relax enough that I was able to go through some of the few notes I had with me. Unfortunately when I'd collected these notes I'd been focusing on genetics and not worrying too much about sleeping problems or estrus cycles so there really wasn't much helpful information to glean. After about a half hour of useless effort I tossed the papers and books aside in favor of lying on my cot and rubbing at the headache that lurked in the back of my skull.

Why was I here again? It wasn't like I was of any help. Just a potential loose end that needed to be kept in sight, right?

"Eeap." I looked up just in time to brace myself when Thatcher jumped on my stomach.

"Oof!" He was getting heavy. "Where have you been?" My words came out in a breathless grunt.

"He was keeping me company." The voice that answered made me sit up. Thatcher grunted slightly when I held him close to my chest to avoid dumping him.

"Master Splinter! Morning! I mean- afternoon! Eh..." What time was it anyways?

He just smiled at my confusion. "May I come in?" Master Splinter asked courteously.

"Of course, feel free." I started to stand but he gestured for me to remain sitting with the hand he held his walking stick with.

As he came in Master Splinter gestured with the other hand, which he held a book in. "I remembered this book and believe you might be interested." He made an amused face. "My sons found it highly interesting when they discovered Robin Hood." The thought of little turtles running around the lair fighting over who got to be the famous thief and who had to be the sheriff or Maid Miriam made me smile. I wondered idly if they'd found that clothes hangers and wooden spoons made great bows and arrows.

Master Splinter sat on the cot next to me and held to book out. I smiled gratefully before turning my attention to the book. It was old, the cover cardboard covered in worn cloth and the pages lightweight but thick, probably published in England. The book title read simply Archery but the author's name was long gone. Inside the pages were filled with almost equal amounts of print and sketches. The sketches were mostly of bows and arrows but there were a few animals, clothes, men and others represented. One page held a picture of a vicious looking arrowhead, it almost looked like a harpoon but the text explained it was a deer hunting arrowhead. "Wow." I murmured, absently tracing the picture with a finger.

My own voice broke me out of my train of thought and reminded me that I was not alone. Closing the book, I looked up and smiled. "This looks interesting. May I really borrow it?" The cover shifted under my fingers, reminding me how old it must be, and how much use it had likely undergone.

But Master Splinter nodded. "You may, however..." I sense a catch. "First you must listen to what I have to say."

His condition startled me. "About what?"

He spoke seriously, but not unkindly. "Perhaps I should have spoken with you concerning your restrictions myself. It seems Leonardo did not handle the situation as well as he could have." Ya think?

"Karai permitted you to leave her stronghold for reasons I do not understand, however we should not take this as a sign that you are no longer a target." I shifted my gaze to the hand that had been stuck with an arrowhead. I hadn't exactly been patted on the head and released, but it was a little _too_ lucky for me to have gotten out on my own skill. "Because of Quinn's circumstances, it would not be too far a stretch to believe the Foot clan would involve their mystics in recovering her. We have had dealings with the foot clans mysticism before. The results were..." He paused as though selecting his words from a shelf. "Upsetting. We do not wish for you to experience similar conflicts."

My brain still seemed to be addled but for some reason the heat that had been in my gut the last couple of hours was cooling. "It was not until after you had left the lair with your friend," Although not directly mentioned Thatcher perked his head up. I knew he couldnt be as dumb as he let on. "that Raphael reminded us of his run-in with the foot clan in the sewers with Quinn. When this was brought to Leonardos attention he was quite unsettled to discover you missing."

Ouch.

Where there had previously been a mix of turbulent emotions there now remained one very clear sensation; guilt. Leo had been worried and I'd brushed him off as if I'd never done the same thing myself. Worse, I'd begrudged him for it despite my own mind telling me not to. Some adult I was supposed to be. I needed to apologize and the sooner the better.

A hand landed gently on my shoulder and I turned from my thoughts back to Master Splinter. For a moment he seemed to study my face carefully before smiling slightly and nodding. He then stood up and left the room. "Enjoy the book." He advised before his tail disappeared from sight.

For a few moments I stared after him, then glanced down at the book that at some point had been placed on the cot and forgotten. It was going to have to stay forgotten a little longer.

"Down Thatch." I ordered, not waiting for him to ignore me before I stood up, more or less dumping him on the floor. He quickly regained his footing and glared at me but I was already out the door looking for Leo.

Master Splinter was already out of sight but Leo was missing as well. I headed out and started a circuit of the lair, hoping to find him someplace other than the bathroom or his bedroom. He wasn't in the dining area or the kitchen –Mikey was but I didn't take the time to tell him to get out of the salad again.- the monitoring area was filled with cheering as a couple of muscle bound thugs beat each other to a bloody pulp in some ring somewhere and Raph's favorite was apparently winning. I saw Quinn coming out of the bathroom which meant Leo wasn't in there and he wasn't helping Don in the lab...

"Tammy!" Donnie called as I turned to leave.

I stopped and resisted the urge to groan, but maybe he knew where Leo was? "Yeah?"

He held up a phone. "Your landlady. I told her you were sick and staying with friends but she says she has to talk to you."

"Hahn?" Landlady? The stick lady? Don indicated I take the phone and I did. When I looked to him for further information he shrugged. A grimace forced its way across my face as I answered the phone. "Ms. Harris, hi."

"_Pam!_" Eeps I'd come to dislike that voice. "_How wonderful! Your boss stopped by this morning and left a message. The doctor was very unhappy to hear you werent here. Something about a surprise he wanted to show you today._"

"A... a surprise?" What kind of surprise would Dr. Elder be thinking of? Was the Foot behind it?

"_Yes, he seemed quite sure you'd want to see it. Ooh, is he letting you adopt one of the animals? You know if you give me the good doctors number I would be more than happy to permit pets in the apartment_."

A surprise.

Something Elder viewed as good.

Blood drained from my face so rapidly the pressure shift left me dizzy.

"Tammy!" Don hissed, signaling quickly with his hand. I barely caught his meaning and brought the phone I'd nearly dropped back up to my ear.

"Listen Ms. Harris, thanks for the message but I have to go."

"_Of course, but first..._"

"Goodbye Ms. Harris." I said before hanging up. For a moment I stared at the phone in my hand.

_Not good... he didn't... not already!...but... I have to find out, but how to contact him? I don't know his number..._

Crap.


	67. Quinn's rude awakening

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author.

*(cough)* Just so everyone is aware; After this chapter the story will be going into hiatus for a little while.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-seven; Quinn

* * *

Okay, so I will admit to being the teensiest bit pleased by my victory against Tammy in our sparring. But the rest of me was just tense, tired, and anxious. My sleep-deprived brain was stretched far too thin. I couldn't keep going like this, I knew that much.

But at least now I had an idea of why I couldn't get any sleep. Maybe it was an unconscious coping mechanism for the whole Dr. Elder thing. At this point, I really couldn't care less—I just wanted to _sleep_. Decently, with no nightmares. It just sucked that I couldn't 'accidentally' fall asleep on the couch next to Mikey after a night of movie watching or something. Damn pheromones.

In the meantime, I occupied myself with doing mindless exercises like crunches and push-ups. I still hadn't gotten over how awesome it was to be this naturally athletic.

Unfortunately, even my mutant body had its limits, and I retired to my boudoir not too long after Tammy left.

After that it was just a matter of finding random things to do. I tried drawing, but my hands were shaking from all the exercise and anything I attempted to draw came out like a cumulous cloud made of silly string. I gave up on that pretty quickly.

Video games and other forms of entertainment outside my room were out of the question, sooo...

iPod it was, then. Mikey really did have a lot of songs I liked, not just dance ones, and I spent a while listening to them and ruminating on life. But then that got me thinking about my family, and that wasn't really something I wanted to do because it could only depress me, so I turned to other activities.

Like showering! Which was something I was supposed to be doing constantly anyway, right? And I'd just been exercising, too. Tammy must've been done by then, I figured, and rushed to the bathroom.

No one was in there—_score!_—so I hopped into the shower and wasted as much time as possible in there.

After that, it was dinner to the rescue, and I was all too happy to hit two birds with one stone: hunger and boredom both nailed by Mikey and his amazing cooking. We were having Mexican, which meant quesadillas and burritos and tacos—essentially a do-it-yourself smorgasbord. I had a great time. Especially since Klunk was evidently otherwise occupied. Man, it was awesome not having to deal with a horny cat.

Well, not another one anyway.

Don was absent from the meal, something which I was simultaneously glad for and a little put out by, but I got over it quickly. Because Leo eating a taco and trying desperately to keep it from falling apart? Pretty much the funniest thing ever. Couple that with Mikey sneaking chili pepper into Raph's quesadilla and you have me trying my damndest to keep from choking on my own burrito.

Splinter was mostly quiet through the meal, and so was Tammy, but it was the thoughtful kind of quiet. For Splinter, this was pretty standard, but Tammy wasn't engaged in dinner at _all_—barely even chuckled at Mikey's antics—and it was starting to worry me. I really hoped it had nothing to do with Elder, but fate seemed to like kicking me in the ass as of late, so the chances of that weren't looking too hot.

Dinner and dessert were over all too soon, leaving me to flounder in my attempts to communicate with Tammy.

"So," I said, wondering how to go about this. I decided tact was overrated and just dove in. "Everything okay on the Elder front?"

Her expression twisted into something that I couldn't identify. "...Everything's fine." _Boy, that was some chilly water._

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Mm-hmm."

"Great."

"Yeah."

We shuffled around for a bit before Tammy changed the subject.

"So, about the sleeping situation...I was thinking maybe you could try Thatcher."

"…Okay." Hell, why not? I was willing to try anything. "Worth a shot. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"So. I'll, uh, see you later then."

She nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

"'Kay. Bye."

"'Night."

I moseyed off to find Thatcher. He was, predictably, lounging on the lounge chair, so locating him wasn't exactly a struggle. Neither was getting him to fall asleep next to me, actually, and I'm happy to report that I slept good and sound that night.

It was the waking up that was the hard part.

Someone was knocking frantically on my door. I shuffled over to it and groggily opened it, straining to keep my eyes open. _Sleep…_

"Have you seen Tammy!" Mikey grabbed my shoulders, shaking me until my head hurt.

"Ow, ow! And no," I muttered, now fully awake. "What's up?"

"Tammy's gone!"

The blood drained from my face in one collective _whoosh_.

Tammy. Gone.

She had been acting strangely last night…My stomach was flipping itself into a frenzy.

"She's gone," I repeated. "Why."

"She asked to go see Dr. Elder last night but Leo told her not to _butnowshe'sgone_!"

"Oh," I croaked. Dr. Elder…damn him. I was going to kill him.


	68. Tammy's Quest

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and does a lot of really good stuff.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-eight; Tammy

* * *

"We missed you this morning. Pretty late now, isn't it?"

I smiled and waved at the security guard still on duty. "Sorry. Twenty-four hour bug and no phone. I just woke up a little while ago and remembered this file needed to be returned." To prove this I brandished the file from that Karai woman. It currently held only scratch paper, but it looked convincing. My carefully planned escapade which had been like a security blanket as I slipped out of the lair and made my way to the surface was nearly finished. After getting to the clinic the plan was only outlined with a fuzzy 'learn everything possible as quickly as possible and wing it from there'. That part wasn't really all that comforting.

"What's that on your forehead?"

Oops, forgot about that. "Head-on! Apply directly to the forehead!"

The guard groaned and waved me in.

I took to the stairs, dropping the file and rubbing the anointing oil off of my forehead. I'd managed to find a retired Army Chaplin at a local cathedral who'd been willing to perform the ceremony. This should protect me from unwanted supernatural forces, now if only there was a ceremony for getting ninja to forgive me. Leo's especially not going to be happy. On the floor which Dr. Elder's clinic was located I hesitated; hand on the door leading to the waiting room.

It was possible. I could turn back now. Get back to the lair before anyone realized I was gone. Sit tight for a few more days until someone came up with a better plan. Train some more with the guys. House train Thatcher. Tea and stories with Master Splinter. Maybe have a conversation with Quinn that had more conversation than awkward silences. Actually apologize to Leo for being an ungrateful lout…

But what would happen to Dr. Elder? The animals? What would happen to the next technician hired to work for him?

"Sorry for making you worry, Leo. I'm an idiot, don't forgive me."

The waiting room was dark, abandoned. To my right waited the elevator doors and to the left the receptionist's desk. This was expected, but what wasn't expected was the light spilling under the doors of the medical wing. My white work sneakers almost lost the sound of their step on the utilitarian carpet as I crossed to the double swinging doors and entered the examination room. For some reason the lights were all on, even though no one was supposed to be here this late.

Dr. Elder's office was messy, but empty. Several piles of unruly papers littered his desk and spilled onto the floor. The papers I looked more closely at held nothing more important than the normal details that have to be worked out for any major operation; math and chemical formulae, lists of tools and supplies, dosages, all the boring details. Despite my training I couldn't read half of the words but considering Dr. Elder had typical doctor's handwriting that wasn't too surprising.

Under one stack I stiffened, seeing a worn copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with a rough sketch of one of Notre Dame Cathedral's towers. That didn't make any sense to me, I hadn't read the book yet, but I didn't think there were supposed to be any critters in the story. Maybe Dr. Elder was just reading it? It was supposed to be good, classic and all…

I put the book back and returned the papers to their previous disarrayed positions.

Outside the office, I looked around more carefully, still wondering why the lights were on. The dogs' barking wasn't echoing from the kennels so they had probably been left long enough to fall asleep, and I hadn't seen any of the animals loose in the waiting room so they were likely all locked up for the night. Maybe nobody was here? Through the medical wing and past the back rooms, into the laundry room, still nobody. Concerned, I headed for the animal rooms to make sure they had been taken care of properly for the night.

I was just a step or two away from the swinging door that led to the kennels when something made me stop. The room was dead quiet. Overhead the light buzzed slightly and there was a negative echo from the silent air vent next to it. Quite was so prevalent I was dimly aware of my own pulse. But a moment before… I thought…

"Dr. Elder?" I turned, half expecting something to have changed. It hadn't. Frowning, I turned back to the kennel door.

A soft tap behind me and something flitted in front of my eyes before my throat was being crushed. Panic flared. My hands flew to my throat and discovered a large stick, maybe a mop or a broom handle. I tried pushing the wood off my throat, then bending forward to try and throw my attacker off but neither worked. Pressure was building in my head, my lungs began to burn but my throat remained completely blocked.

_I don't know what to do!_

Two minutes, maybe less. Think! Use them!

I don't know what to do! What do I do?

Where does he want you to go?

I tried pulling forward again, whoever it was behind me easily fought the effort. _Okay… so…_ Bracing my feet on the floor, I pushed back –hard. Whoever it was stumbled back. I kicked at the floor again, taking advantage of the moment to throw him off further. We both stumbled and I kicked against the wall to my side, completely ruining my attacker's already faulty balance. The pressure on my throat vanished and I quickly shoved back with both arms, one elbow struck something behind me and I managed to get some clearance between me and whoever.

Before completely regaining any sense of balance I was stumbling across the floor, then running. In seconds I'd made it to one of the spare rooms in the back and slammed the door behind me, slapping the button on the handle to lock it just before my attacker barreled into the door, struggled with the handle for a minute, then rammed a fist into the window, cracking it. If the glass hadn't been reinforced with metal wires he might have gotten through.

After punching the door he moved so that I could see his face through the cracked glass. The room I was in was dark, and the creature stood in a lit hallway, throwing most of its features into silhouette. I couldn't tell what it was supposed to be, but there wasn't a doubt in my mind that that creature was the 'surprise' Dr. Elder wanted to tell me about... and it was leering at me.

"Tammy?" I screamed, then slapped a hand over my mouth to silence the sound. "I'm sorry. Tammy? Dear girl, what are you doing here?" The thing on the other side of the door made a dark sound, either an angry growl or a laugh.

I quickly turned to the voice that had addressed me. "Dr. Elder?" He sat in a corner of the room. Blood trailed down one side of his face and had started seeping into his clothes at the neck. "What happened to you?" Why was I even bothering to ask?

He glanced sadly at the creature now quietly watching us through the shattered window. "Gringoire was no happier to awaken than my sweet Alice. In his confusion he attacked me. I'm sure he doesn't know what he's doing."

The creature –Gringoire? Who…?- slapped the window, causing a few shards of glass to fall loose on either side of the door. "It's _Jeffery_!" His voice sounded like crushed steel on concrete. The fact that he could talk and had another name sent my skin crawling with realization.

"Dr. Elder…" I stared in horror at the man. "You didn't… not again…" Somehow, he'd repeated whatever it was that had happened to Quinn, he'd placed another person in his experiments. Did the Foot know? Were the mystics behind it? Was it an accident?

"Hey girly, your boss is insane." Jeffery or Gringoire sneered from outside the door. That was something I'd figured out for myself, thank you.

"Gringoire, please…" Dr. Elder started to say something, to plead.

"**Shut up**!" Jeff barked. I could hear it in his voice this time, whoever he was he wasn't just angry, he was dangerously angry. As if to prove this he rammed into the door again, shattering the glass further and causing several chunks of the window to fall loose.

Door was metal, it didn't so much as bend under his attacks. The thought helped me to relax some. I could focus a little. Dr. Elder was bleeding, this guy was yelling. Yelling never hurt anyone.

I steeled myself enough to step forward and hit the light switch before turning to look around the room. It was empty save for Dr. Elder, myself, and a small smear of blood on the floor. The creature had probably dragged Dr. Elder in here not long ago. Quickly I shrugged off my jacket and moved to Dr. Elder's side to examine his wounds. He'd been hit in the head by something that not only left a darkening bruise, but also ripped tears into his scalp. "Dr. Elder… what did he do to you?" Tilting his chin back slightly allowed me to get a good look at his eyes. The pupils were even and seemed to have adapted well to the change in lighting.

"He didn't mean to." Dr. Elder insisted. The creature didn't respond. A quick glance at the door revealed he'd left either trying to lure me out or going for something to remove the wire mesh from the window.

"Did you black out?"

Dr. Elder looked a little confused as he glanced around the room. "I must have." He confessed.

"Blurred vision? Vertigo?"

My questions were answered in the negative. I carefully ran my fingers through his graying hair. A short distance inside the bruised region his scalp suddenly became soft, startling me so badly I yanked my hands back. He was still bleeding pretty badly from the deep scratches in his scalp, but I couldn't bandage them with that soft spot without potentially killing him. Dr. Elder needed a hospital and he needed one _now_.

While performing a more thorough exam for other injuries I also checked his clothes. Keys, a small memo pad, a pen, a small gash in the back of his shoulder, a watch, and a paper bookmark. "Dr. Elder, do you have a cell phone?"

He frowned and patted his pockets with a bloodied hand. "Must have left it in my office." Elder murmured, sounding like an old man who'd lost his keys.

I swallowed. There was another phone on the receptionist's desk and emergency landlines next to the lab and in the janitor's closet. The security guard was still on the first floor with a phone and a police radio within easy reach. Plenty of ways to call for help. Nothing that could help.

Frustration had me pawing through the few items I'd found on Dr. Elder. Eventually I picked up the pen. It could work as a bo shuriken right? I didn't have the strength to do any damage, but it would make somebody flinch if it hit their face… right?

"Dr. Elder." Employee of the month smile. "I left some important papers on your desk. I'll go get them for you, okay?" He frowned at me. Somewhere in his brilliant but unstable and injured mind he realized something was wrong.

"Gringoire… he might hurt you." Dr. Elder fussed.

"He won't hurt me." I assured him. "We'll talk and I'm sure we'll be the best of friends."

For a moment Dr. Elder hesitated, possibly the last strand of his sanity screaming at him to say no, but between the blood loss and the head wound that annoying logic didn't win out. "Be careful. He's upset."

I nodded and stood up, pen in hand. Before marching to the door I paused to pull my jacket back on, it might be useful. At the door I paused and looked around best I could, even looking up. When I didn't see Jeffery I carefully unlocked the door and opened it. Another look around and I stepped out into the hall, locking the door behind me before letting it close.


	69. Quinn lectures Don

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and does a lot of really good stuff.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-nine; Quinn

* * *

"Okay, let's think this through rationally," Don said, before Raph could go off on an angry rant.

We were all sitting around the kitchen table. Splinter had insisted that we eat breakfast and allow ourselves time to calm down and formulate a plan before rushing after Tammy. As he put it, Tammy was more than capable of thinking things through and would not have gone back to see the doctor unless it was necessary.

"…And since she wasn't kidnapped, it's unlikely that she's in immediately grave danger." Don paused to take a sip of his coffee. I was nursing a cup of orange juice myself. "But the fact remains that she almost definitely went back to Dr. Elder's lab."

"So why're we still sittin' here _talkin'_?" Raph growled, beginning to rise to his feet. Splinter laid a hand on his son's shoulder and Raph sat back down with a scowl.

"She wouldn't just go back for no reason," I muttered. No one in their right mind would. And neither would I.

Don nodded. "It stands to reason that there must've been something that made her come back." He didn't say anything for a while, and I glanced up at him. He was frowning into his coffee.

"What?" I asked.

Don shook his head. "It might be nothing, but…Tammy's landlady called yesterday."

Leo looked up sharply. "When?"

"Just before dinner."

Hard lines set into Leo's face. "She talked to me right after dinner."

"So the landlady had somethin' ta say about Elder," Raph muttered.

"I think we can safely assume so, yes," Don said. He kept staring into his coffee like it was from the Spring of Enlightenment or something. Which probably existed in this universe.

"I know this doesn't happen often, but I agree with Raph on this one," Mikey said, sounding subdued. "If Tammy's in trouble, and we know where she is, then why aren't we going after her?"

"Because we _don't_ know where she is. All of our discussion thus far has been based entirely on conjecture—"

Raph growled lowly. "Hey genius, some of us don't read the dictionary in our free time."

Don shot Raph a dirty look. Mikey glanced between the two, looking worried. Leo was staring darkly into the wood grain of the table, deep in thought. Splinter looked tired. And, as always, sage-like.

He was also staring directly at me.

I didn't notice this for a couple seconds, but when I did I was confused. Why was he staring at _me_? Sure, I had baggage that was related to the conversation, but I was hardly the person most riled up here. I wasn't even the one closest to crying—I was pretty sure that one fell to Mikey.

So, what, was he expecting something from me?

I looked back up at Splinter, and he inclined his head slightly.

…Oh. Talking. Yes. Right. It had been silent for a while, anyway.

"Even if we assume she's at Elder's," I said, drawing attention away from the Don-Raph staredown, "We don't know if she's actually in trouble. Or, on the other extreme, she could be dead already."

I blinked. Wait, what? Way to go, mouth, running off on your own. Yay for morbidity. Now Mikey looks even closer to crying.

"In any case, we have no way of knowing what's going on over there."  
"We can't just call her on the shell cell?" Mikey piped up.

Don looked miserable, letting go of his coffee to hold his head in his hands. "We can't. I haven't finished her new cell yet. I didn't think she'd need it." I reminded myself now was not a good time to reach across the table and hug him. Not a good time at all.

"Now is not the time to lay blame, my sons," Splinter said calmly, breaking the tension. "We must focus on helping Miss Tammy."

"We're gonna have to get in there and kick his shell sooner or later," Raph muttered. "I vote sooner, before anythin' happens to Tammy."

I held my head in my hands, staring down into the endless orange of my glass of juice. I was feeling really, really tired. Eight-so hours had barely put a dent in my sleep deprivation.

"We can't just charge in either," Leo said. "Tammy could be anywhere in the building, and we don't know what kind of security measures he'll have."

"I'll see what I can dig up," Don said. "In the meantime, you guys should have a real breakfast. You'll need it."

No one could really argue with that point. And, although I wasn't feeling all that hungry, I always had room for some of Mikey's waffles and bacon and eggs. Mikey still looked like someone had killed Klunk, though, so I saw fit to give him a big hug before he sat down. He gave me a little smile and a plate of food to take to Don. I swallowed my nervous laugh and descended into the lab.

I found Don sitting, predictably, in front of his computer, hunched over the keyboard and typing furiously. He was all but glaring at the monitor, and I wondered what it was that was giving him so much trouble.

"Hey, genius," I said, feeling exceedingly proud of myself when my voice didn't crack or come out hoarse. Don glanced up form the computer screen, looking harried, and with that the pride was snuffed out.

I swallowed. "I come with gifts of waffles and bacon."

"Thanks," he said, not looking up from the screen. "Put them anywhere."

I didn't. "You're not going to eat any of this, are you?"

He didn't say anything, but that was all the answer I needed. "Don, seriously. At least eat some of this. You'll need it for when we go to…get Tammy."

Don didn't say anything for a while, until I turned to leave.

"I'm the reason we have to go get her."

My hand froze on the doorknob. I turned around again and there Don was, still typing furiously away, scowling even worse than he had been before.

"No, you're not," I said, with more of an edge to my voice than I'd thought I was capable of at the moment. "We have to go get her because Dr. Elder is a lunatic who likes playing around with genetics so he can have his precious children." Somehow a growl had worked its way into my voice. "And because Tammy is loyal and too stubborn and self-sacrificing to back out just because she didn't get Leo's approval. If you think, for one second, that this is your fault just because you couldn't see into the future and anticipate her need for a communicator that would probably provide as much help for the situation as it is right now, I will slap you across the face."

I blinked. _What? Whoa. Where had that come from?_

"This isn't your fault to any extent of the imagination. We all had a hand in the way things are right now. If Leo hadn't been so short with her last night. If I had been awake at night like I usually was. If Mikey had asked her what was up during dinner. It goes on. But none of us are to blame for this. So stop it and focus on finding the blueprints."

He was staring at me now, just staring, and I fought a losing battle with the heat rising to my cheeks.

"Speaking of which, have you found them yet?" I pushed forward past the awkwardness and walked back down the stairs to set the plate of now-cold food never to the keyboard.

It looked like he had to take a second to get his jaw working again. He turned back to the screen and started typing before I got a response. "I found them, but the files are encrypted and blocked with a pretty decent firewall. I haven't done any hacking in a while, so I'm kind of rusty. But—there!" A little pop-up window announced a file download, and Don's success. "I've got them. It'll just take a few seconds to download."

"Then you can use those few seconds to eat some food," I said squarely, crossing my arms. Don watched me for a little while, then decided I was being serious and gave in, picking up the fork and knife.

I smiled. "I'll go get the guys and then we can all go over the plans together."

Leo wasted no time in mapping out the most efficient and safe method of getting into the building; we would go in through the vents, using the ventilation pipe on the roof as an entrance. Don pointed out that the vents would probably not be strong enough to hold everyone, or fit them with their shells. I then volunteered to go in alone and open a window for them. I even pointed out a window on the top floor that was just a hop, skip and jump away from one of the vent openings.

"And hey, I'm one of Elder's kids, right? So even if I run into him he probably won't hurt me."

Don gave me a look. "Quinn, he's _insane_."

"I know," I said, a little more fiercely than I should have.

No one said anything for a while. Thatcher had managed to creep into the lab at some point, and he started to paw at my leg. My hand wandered down to pet his scaly head.

"Alright," Leo said finally, more a muttered concession than a statement. "But in that case I need you to be in constant communication with us. Don, you have an earpiece or something she can use?"

"Yeah, hold on a sec." Don scooted his chair over to a messy countertop, where he rummaged around in a box for a bit before pulling out a little piece of electronic equipment. "Here. This'll clip onto your collar."

Well, I was wearing a wife beater, so a shoulder strap would have to do. But it fastened on just fine, and we tested it out to make sure it was in working order.

We went over the plan one last time, and then we were off.


	70. Tammy's troubles

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and does a lot of really good stuff.

* * *

Chapter Seventy; Tammy

* * *

Assuming, hoping, and praying that Jeffery was in the medical wing, I'd chosen to make my way through the animal rooms. This path would bring me around back to the lobby, and the receptionists' desk. I could either use that phone or make a run for it and contact security.

The animals were not handling the situation well. The dogs and the cats reacted much the same. They huddled in the back of their kennels and rooms in groups of shivering fur. The only one not behaving like the rest was a queen crouched and snarling protectively over her litter of two quivering kits. After that things got ugly. The other animals didn't have the mental an emotional capacity to handle the stress and fear. The reptiles hid in their little synthetic hide-a-ways, but the rest… I'd have to go through and see how many survived later.

What was left of dinner lay heavy in my stomach by the time I'd gotten back to the lobby. The room was as dark and as quiet as when I'd first come up the stairs not too long ago. In a crouch I hurried across the lobby, past the never used chairs, to the receptionist's desk. I crawled behind it and pulled the phone down with me, then lifted the receiver and waited for the tone.

Something was wrong.

Where was the dial tone?

Hoping it was on an inter-office circuit, I pressed nine.

Nothing, not even a beep. The phone was completely dead.

"Now, why didn't I think of that when I was here for the last few hours?" Jeffery asked, leaning over the desk as though this were a casual conversation with the secretary. "Oh, right, I remember. I did."

I threw the phone at him and ran for my life. He swatted the phone away and grabbed me just before I could reach the first set of the two doors leading back to the medical wing. I was hauled completely off my feet, then carried like so much kicking and screaming luggage. I tried scratching at his arm, but since with my nails so short it did me more harm than him. Still, he wasn't hurting me yet, not really. Maybe I could talk some sense into him? "Put me down! I have to call an ambulance! He's dying! Please! Jeffery!" His only response to my shouts was to keep walking through the medical wing. "Please! He's dying! I can help you but please, just let me call an ambulance for Dr. Elder!"

"Your boss is crazy." He repeated

Jeffery pushed open one of the spare rooms' door and tried to shove me inside. I grabbed onto the doorframe, determined to not let him trap me. "Believe me, I know!"

He shifted his grip, suddenly instead of being hefted by the waist he had me in the air by my arms and was shaking me. "YOU _DON'T_ KNOW! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" The monster bellowed.

No, not a monster. Just angry. Angry I've dealt with. "Then tell me! I'll tell you everything I know if you'll just talk to me!"

"I think not." Somebody said. Jeffery's grip on my arms suddenly loosened and with a shriek I was on my way to a clumsy landing on the floor. When I looked up he was leaning dangerously close to me and I crawled back to avoid being fallen on.

"Jeff?" Behind the unconscious Jeffery stood possibly the only thing that could have scared me more. "Morikan."

At least, that was the name attached to the face. Instead of a stuffy suit he wore black clothes with a sword of some kind over his shoulder and a small drug administration gun in his hand. On his chest was the familiar red crest of the Foot clan. He tossed the gun aside and glared at me. "You were not expected."

"S-sorry… I got Dr. Elder's message late."

The man's eyes narrowed. "What message?" Morikan demanded coldly.

"He… he said…" I tried to think, slowly standing up as I scrambled for something to say. "Actually, my landlady said that Dr. Elder said…" I patted my pants pocket. "He wanted me to come in to work today… had something important to show me… I guess this was IT!" With that last word I threw the pen I'd taken from Dr. Elder at Morikan.

It hit him in the eye, he reacted by throwing up one hand in a feeble defense and reaching for his sword with the other. By then I'd leapt over Jeffery and plowed into Morikan, knocking him to the floor with a tackle worthy of my high school football team. His head cracked against the wall on the other side of the hallway, dazing him but not taking him out. Shoving against the man, I regained my feet and made a run for Dr. Elder's office, determined to get to his cell phone. In almost cartoony fashion the moment I ran into his office I was brought to an immediate stop when two ninja caught me, one to each arm. They easily hefted me up and carried me back the direction I'd just come from. "Ah, crawdads." It was both annoying and potentially flattering when they reached where Morikan was unsteadily standing up and turned around so that I could face him without being released. They lowered me to the floor but held tight.

Morikan allowed for a brief rub at the back of his head to make sure it wasn't bleeding as he glared coldly at me. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"Just like I said. I got a message saying Dr. Elder wanted to see me. I got here and found everything the way it is now." Nodding toward Jeffery I added. "Except he was awake… and yelling."I could see one of the other ninja breaking the lock to the room Dr. Elder was in. He was probably too valuable not to recieve excellent medical care.

Good. Not great, but good.

"You came here alone?"

"Yes."

He didn't believe me. "Where are the turtles?"

"I don't know what you're-" He slapped me. I tried to kick him for it but the two ninja hauled me off my feet.

"Where are the turtles?" Morikan asked again. He drew his sword. The sound it made chilled me to the bone. I'd heard the sword was the soul of the swordsman, but I'd written that off as poetic license until I heard how different his sword was from Leo's katana being drawn. The tone was almost identicle, but they were nothing alike. "They came with you, did they not?"

"No!" Too vehement, but any pretense I had of not knowing the turtles was gone when I heard that blade. There was something about that blade, it gave me the exact same feeling I got the first time I saw Morikan. Stark terror.

Morikan slowly moved the blade so that it just slid along my jawline, tracing the almost healed cut with the blade. "Where are the-" This time he was interupted. There came a loud growl, then the man was smashed into the wall by a very angry Jeffery. Morikan slumped unconscious to the floor. his blade clattering on the tile floor. Again I was dropped on my rear when the two ninja spun around to see what was happening.

I'm not sure how they read it, but from where I was sitting Jeffery the gargoyle was standing, but still drugged. He was angry, he could fight, but he was in no condition to talk sense.


	71. Quinn talks logic and nonsense

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and does a lot of really good stuff. Furthermore, in this chapter Quinn gives us an enlightened tutorial on how to determine bad guys. Take notes y'all.

* * *

Chapter Seventy-one; Quinn

* * *

I wasn't by any means looking forward to going back to the lab. I was dreading seeing Dr. Elder again even more so, but I reminded myself this was for Tammy, that Tammy needed our help, and I kept following the guys closer and closer to the lab.

The smell of too-familiar chemicals made my nose wrinkle, and it only got worse as we landed silently on the roof. There were three Foot ninja waiting for us, but the guys dispatched them before they could call in backup.

Don and Raph easily dismantled the exhaust pipe, taking out the grating and fan so that I could make my entrance.

A hand on my shoulder stopped me before I took the plunge, and I turned to see Leo, which totally didn't disappoint me. At all.

"Be careful," he said, and let go. I didn't really know how to respond, so I just crawled into the vents.

It was one of the most uncomfortable feelings of my life, being in that cramped metal maze. Everything, _everything_ smelled like the chemicals and claustrophobia set in almost immediately.

"Okay," Don's voice said, coming in over the clip-on communicator. "Take your first left." I made the turn. "Go forward all the way, then right at the fork." I focused on the commands, trying to just take deep breaths and not think about where I was or what I was doing, and be as quiet as possible so as to not attract attention.

Finally, I got the go to leave the vents via a grating that was bolted in place. Luckily, Don had foresawn this problem and had equipped me with a laser, which I hurried to use on the bolts. It wasn't as fast as I'd have liked, but it was quiet and inconspicuous enough and it got the job done. I popped the grating off and hopped out of the vents.

…There were two Foot ninja waiting for me.

Well, shit.

One of them rushed me, and I panicked and swung with the grating I still held, managing to hit him more or less in the face. The second one tried to attack from the side, but my reflexes kicked in and I managed to knee him in the crotch first.

I dropped the now-bent grating and pulled out my tekko, swinging one of them into the first assailant's stomach and then landing another hit in the second ninja's ribcage. A crunching noise made me wince, but I reminded myself it'd been self defense and moved on to the window, leaving the injured Foot ninja behind.

Raph laughed as we passed the two ninja. "You got 'em good, Fuzzy."

We did a quick scan of the floor, checking all rooms to see if Tammy was in one of them and knocking out Foot ninja along the way. Most of them were offices, and a lot of them were being used as storage; they were all empty.

The lab wasn't very tall for a building in NYC, only three floors plus a basement, and we went down to the second floor next.

We came out of the stairs into the reception area. As we got closer to the hallway which housed Dr. Elder's office, other sounds were audible. Fighting sounds.

We bust into that room faster than a rubber band stored in the freezer. Sure enough, there they were, two Foot ninja and Tammy. Along with some unconscious dude in a suit and a giant grey…gargoyle? Oookay. Things now made sense.

Before we could jump in, the gargoyle dude had smashed the two ninja's heads together and they fell limply to the ground. The gargoyle stumbled backwards a step, looking somewhat woozy. Tammy, however, was not so quiet.

"You're here!" She hopped over the fallen bodies, darting past the gargoyle to give Mikey a big hug.

He returned it and handed her the staff we'd brought along. "For you, madame," he winked.

…Uh oh. Kitty senses tingling…

I looked up to see the previously-stunned-looking gargoyle staring at us. "What _are_ you?" Yowza. His voice was not the most pleasant thing I'd ever heard.

"We're the turtles!" Mikey said, grinning.

This was evidently the wrong answer, because his eyes narrowed. "The turtles," he repeated.

"Well, and I'm the Cheshire cat," I added. "Supposed to be, anyway."

Suddenly there was a _click_ and we all turned to see dude-in-a-suit with his finger on what I could only guess was a call for reinforcements.

Raph and I swore. Badly. And then Raph went over and knocked the guy out again.

Gargoyle guy chose this moment to come barreling towards us. Leo was on him in an instant, roundhouse-kicking him in the side of the head and knocking him back a few steps. Unfortunately this only made him more angry.

The Foot reinforcements wasted no time in entering and throwing themselves on us. Raph swore again.

"Leo, swap!" I yelled, from where I was exchanging blows with a Foot. We switched places on the battlefield—er, hallway—and suddenly I was face-to-face with Mr. Gargoyle.

"Hey, dude," I muttered. "How's it going?"

He swung one huge hand at me. I ducked and swung my tekko into his knee, then moved around to his back and jumped on his shoulders, avoiding the giant bat wings and the tail. I hooked my elbows around the horn-things on either side of his head and leaned down to talk to him.

"Hey, I know what you're going through, okay? I've been there. Here."

This didn't pacify him, as there was a whip-like slap on my back at he hit me with his tail. I clenched my teeth against the pain and dropped off of him. My back wound had definitely reopened. Great.

"It sucks," I went on, having contracted diarrhea of the mouth despite the ongoing fight, "and I know you're scared. There's a freaky guy in a labcoat telling you you're his precious kid, calling you a name that's not yours"—he tried to grab my tail, but I leapt backwards and rammed my tekko onto the band of his hand—"and your body's all weird and this is the last thing you expected to happen on a Monday"—he made a series of awkward punches and grabs, and I dodged—"even though Mondays suck in general." I smiled grimly. "The first time I looked in a mirror, I had a psychotic breakdown."

For the most part, he'd stopped fighting me at this point, favoring his right knee and left hand. "Who are you?" he ground out. I tried not to wince at the sound of his voice. If only he sounded like Goliath…

"According to Elder, I'm your older sister," I said, still crouched if he tried to attack again. "But if you ask me, I'm Quinn. Cat-girl extraordinaire and ninja-in-training. Also, from another dimension. Like you. And in mine, all of this is a comic book."

"The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," he breathed, words slurring together. "Does that mean—"

"Yeah, they're the genuine articles," I said. "And so are the Foot ninja we're being attacked by. Care to lend a hand?"

His expression cleared for a moment, only to darken as Raph yelled, "QUINN! WHAT THE SHELL ARE YOU DOING!"

"There's no way this is real," he growled.

I sighed. "I'm not getting through to you, am I?" I narrowly avoided a blow from his tail. "…Guess not." Time to switch tactics. "Look, just think of this as a video game. The turtles are your party, and the Foot ninja are the…well…the Foot ninja that you have to defeat to get to the final boss. Tammy and I are part of your party, too," I added quickly. "The fact of the matter is, we want to kick Foot ninja ass. I gather that you, too, want to kick ass, so I propose you help _us_ because they're the bad guys. I mean look, they're coming at us in hordes. And they're wearing all black. You can't even see their faces. Clearly villainous."

Gargoyle man was still glaring at me, but his eyes flickered to watch the fight around us now and then. I took this as a good sign.

A Foot managed to slip through the turtles and sprang at me, but I blocked the sword he'd been trying to slice me with and kicked him towards the gargster.

He barely even looked at the Foot soldier before whomping the guy with his fist. I grinned at him. "See, now that's what I'm talking about. Now get over here and help me fight these guys."

The Foot must have been wearing the guys down, because pretty soon more were pouring into the circle they'd created for me and gargoyle man to duke it out in. It wasn't long before there wasn't a circle left, just a room full of Foot ninja and unconscious bodies that we were trying to fight our way through.

I had a brief sense of déjà vu before remembering the nightmare I'd had about a very, very similar situation. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the Foot ninja around me, and not the mounting dread I felt.


	72. Tammy's gun returns!

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT universe. Dr. Elder and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and does a lot of really good stuff.

* * *

Chapter Seventy-two; Tammy

* * *

The natives were restless… or at least, that's what Mikey said when we found ourselves surrounded by the Foot ninja.

Fortunately, Mikey was also a saint who provided weapons… weapons I barely knew how to use, but weapons all the same. "HYA!" The combo I'd worked out with Don and Leo knocked back two of the Foot.

"You… know how to fight?" Jeff sounded surprised.

By the time he'd finished that statement of disbelief I'd taken a blow to the chest and slid across our barely held ring of defense. "… Not really." I managed to grunt. Behind the mutant a line of ninja went flying from a casual sweep of his tail –so glad he's basically on our side now. Thank you Quinn.

Roughly Leo seized my arm and pulled me to my feet. "Focus, we need you." He ordered shortly.

"Right, right…" I mumbled, hurrying back to my position, which Mikey seemed to be having a blast defending. He stepped aside and allowed me room to join the fight again, but it seemed like no time had passed at all before I was back in the middle of our group pushing myself to my feet. With a growl I ran back into the fray and delivered a jump-kick to the groin of the nearest ninja. Finally somebody went down!

"…I don't remember teaching you that…" Donnie's voice sounded strained, but not from fighting. For my part, I was too busy being lifted and thrown across the room to reply with anything apologetic or witty.

"AUGH!" Pathetic. Raph was kind enough not to complain too badly when I landed on him. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and bodily lifted me off the ground as he stood up, then set me on my feet. For a moment I was at a perfect angle to see Quinn completely off the ground, kicking some poor idiot in the face. If it wasn't for her being so cool and saving my neck and all; I'd hate her.

"Whatever you're doin' do somethin' else." Raph instructed.

"EEK!" Before I could figure out who had a more girly scream than me Michelangelo plowed into my gut.

"HEY! I'm coachin' here!" Raph barked at whoever had thrown his brother. Fortunately for me and the good guys, I was light enough that the one hundred and way-too-heavy pound turtle crashing into me had sent us both into the crowd of ninja, considerably softening the impact on me as well as causing a few moments of chaos for them.

"Come on!" Mikey grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet.

"Guh!" How did he get back on his feet that fast?

"Hold on a sec…" Once more I was airborne. Mikey slung me over his shoulder and before I could really process that there is nothing on his shell to 'hold on' to he'd run through a series of kicks and spins so rapid that when he announced. "Okay." and released me I promptly landed on my butt. A clack of wood on tile assured me that at the very least I was still holding my jo… yay me. "Whoops, sorry."

Pushing through the disorientation, pain, dizziness and haunting sense of nausea, I forced myself to my feet and didn't even bother aiming before kicking out hard. My foot connected with something. "That's what I'm talking about!" Raph cheered from somewhere. I couldn't tell where exactly, Mikey's trick had done too much damage to my equilibrium. Stop the room, I want to get off.

The room didn't stop, I was grabbed by an arm and the waist of my pants before once again being hauled off my feet –seriously, I'm not that small! Throw Quinn around instead! Blindly I reached for something, anything to grab onto and managed to catch a handful of cloth before I was thrown again. I kept my grip and the ninja's throw was sabotaged as he was dragged forward, landing on top of me when we both hit the floor. Like Mike, he got up freaky fast but I'd barely registered that he was on his feet before he was gone and I was lifted in the air again. This time I was being carried with all the dignity of luggage.

"This isn't working." I heard Leo mutter, identifying him to be the 'bellboy' as he leapt off the floor onto one of the exam tables. He jumped easily to anther table, allowing me to stare in shock at the ninja we passed over –including Quinn… still in control of herself of course- before he landed, then leapt again. We landed in one of the spare rooms and I was dropped unceremoniously on the floor. Upon regaining my feet I saw Leo struggling to close the door on the horde of ninja trying to get through.

"Um…HA!" I darted forward and kicked hard at a hand trying to press through, while aiming my jo for a jab at someone's mask. Both pulled back before I could hit, but this allowed Leo to get the door shut. The latch clicked and he fumbled with the handle, pulling it up to prevent the handle on the other side from being pushed down. I pushed the button and the door locked, allowing us a moment's peace.

Leo turned to me and frowned. I was now standing next to the wall with one hand braced against it, panting for breath and still a little dizzy. "You're not ready for this." He noted. It was all I could do not to say something about how obvious that statement was. "Why did you-" With a shake of his head he cut himself off, then sheathed his katana and reached behind him. "We're leaving via the roof, I need you to take the point."

If I hadn't been so short of breath my dry "Are you insane?" would have been shouted. As it was, audible conversation was the top of my lungs right now. In reply he pulled something from the back of his belt and tossed it at me. I barely managed to catch the thing he'd tossed, then flushed badly and resisted the urge to back up or kick him when he shoved his hand in my pocket and dropped something in it. Before all the objections on my tongue could find voice the object in my hand was finally recognized as my gun! My jo was shoved down the back of my shirt (don't ask, _please_ don't ask) so that my free hand could feel in my pocket. Several small, metal cylinders greeted my fingers. Quickly I checked and found the gun to be fully loaded.

"You seem more comfortable with long range weapons. Can you take the point with that?" He asked.

I gave the gun an experimental swing. It could work. Using it as a blunt weapon would save me on ammo. More confident now, I killed the safety and cocked the hammer. " If you're watching my back; I'll try."

His head bobbed once. "Count on it. Stairs to roof, we'll collect everyone on the way, ready?"

I stepped in front of the door, he reached for the handle. A deep breath, focus. A ninja stood on the other side of the door, I could see him through the damaged window. He saw the gun and stepped back.

No, not he, target. Nothing more than targets. Shoot important black targets, chest shots, head shots, red on black is bullseye, any other color is bad. Six shots, then reload. Target. "Ready."

Door open. Point and shoot. Run, strike, cock hammer, point, shoot, move, kick…


	73. Quinn brings us home

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT. Dr. Elder, Jeff, and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and does a lot of really good stuff.

* * *

Chapter Seventy-three; Quinn

* * *

I was barely aware of what I was doing as the ninja swarmed around me. It was like I was playing some crazy video game, frantically tapping the controls in an attempt to _just do something_.

And hey, it was sort of working. I mean, yeah, there were still plenty more ninja to go around, and I was probably going to accumulate some more scars—not to mention the whopper on my back; I could still feel it sluggishly bleeding, and come to think of it I should probably worry a little more about the blood loss—but at least I was still on my feet, alive. I knew quite a few Foot ninja who weren't so lucky.

Jeff was doing pretty well for himself, too. I can't tell you how glad I am that he wasn't trying to kill me anymore, especially now that the tranq had worn off. He was really a handful, and a helpful one when not attacking you.

We were making our way out of the building, I knew that much. I was up near the front, attempting to clear a path for our escape alongside Raph and Mikey. We were the most ballistic, that was probably why. Though I had a few near-misses when it came to slicing Mikey with my tekko. He didn't seem to notice, which was a huge relief.

Soon we were in the stairwell, and gargoyle-dude swept the stairs clean for us with a simple swish of his tail. Damn that thing was useful.

The higher floors were a mercifully easier, since we'd cleaned them out once earlier. Only a few stragglers were left to knock out on our way out, though the rear guard was probably having a tougher time of it because of the ninjas still in pursuit.

When we made it to the roof, the battle shell screeched out of an alley to come to a humming stop on the street below us. April stuck her head out of the driver's side window, shouting for us to get in, and I didn't hesitate to throw myself off of the increasingly ninja-infested roof. I landed soundly on the top of the vehicle and swung myself into the back of the modified tank.

The turtles were quick to follow, landing swiftly and silently. Leo was last, holding Tammy across his shoulder, and the whole vehicle shook as the gargoyle landed on it and climbed down into the back. We packed ourselves in like sardines so he would fit, and I found myself clamped tightly between a gargoyle arm and the back of the passenger's seat. I was jostled into Raph and Mikey several times during the frenzied car ride. April can drive like the devil when she wants to.

We had a dilemma as we entered the sewers. We had to take gargoyle dude back to the lair, but we weren't sure he could be trusted. Getting him to fight the evil-looking Foot was one thing; revealing the secret location of the lair to a stranger was another entirely.

Eventually we decided to have a sit-down in one of the now-unused subway passages to discuss the situation.

"Who are you?" was Leo's first question.

"Jeff," the gargoyle said. Well, okay, unexpected. I knew a couple Jeffs, and they did not fit with the image of a huge gargoyle in any way. "Jeffery Gantt."

"Like a Gantt chart," I blurted, before I could help myself. I could feel my face turning red under the stares I was receiving. "Uh, sorry. Forget I said anything."

"Do you know who we are?" Leo continued.

"Yeah, of course. You're Leonardo, that's Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael. And Casey and April, I think." He frowned at Tammy and I. "Don't know who you guys are, though."

"That's Quinn. She got pulled into this like you were. And Tammy is a former employee of Dr. Elder's."

"Yeah," Jeff muttered. "I got that." He looked away from Tammy and refocused on Leo. "So you guys just…live here? This isn't a joke or anything? Am I dreaming?"

"Yes, no, and it's not," Leo said calmly. "We think you and Quinn have been transported here by the Foot mystics. This is a different universe than the one you're from, but it's not a dream."

Jeff didn't say anything.

"Is there anything you can tell us that only we should know? Something to convince us that you really are from the other dimension."

He didn't say anything for a while, then "In the last movie, Leonardo came back from training, but Raphael was still pissed at him and they ended up fighting on a rooftop. Raphael broke Leonardo's katana, and he got captured by the stone generals and…yeah."

Leo's face looked grim, and when I glanced at Raph he was glaring at the train tracks. Another tally for the movie-verse, then.

"So that actually happened?"

"Yes." Leo's tone of voice said that the conversation was over, and we walked back to the lair with Jeff in tow. April and Casey said they'd come too, but Leo said they'd done more than enough, and they left for their apartment.

Back at the lair, Jeff stopped in the doorway and stared in awe. I smiled, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

"Yeah, it's real," I said flatly. "Now get in here. You're letting the stench in."

He stepped forward and I closed the door behind him.

"You probably know your way around already," I said. "But I'll tell you anyway: kitchen's there, dojo's there, door to the Donnie's lab is over there, bathroom's that way, Splinter's study is over there, and up there's my room, Tammy's, Mikey and Raph's, and Leo's. In that order."

"Wow," he breathed. "You live here?"

"Not many other places for a cat like me," I said, cocking an eyebrow. "Same goes for you. You a turtles fan?" He nodded. "Great. Then you'll love it here. Just don't forget that this is actually real life, and you should be fine."

"Hey! Dude! Wanna play Mario Cart with me?"

Jeff joined Mikey on the couch, and I darted up to my room for spare clothes, then into the bathroom for a quick shower. I was careful to keep the water to a neutral temperature, mindful of the fact my back wound had torn open again. The shirt I'd been wearing was ruined; I'd probably have to burn it. Or at least throw it in a topside dumpster or something. And my pants were in desperate need of a heavy wash. I settled for plugging the sink and filling it with water for the pants to soak in. That'd at least stave off any major bloodstains.

I realized my folly when I saw my back in the mirror; still bleeding, stitches badly torn, in desperate need of medical attention. Putting a shirt on now would only result in another ruined shirt. I settled for pants and a towel wrapped around my chest.

"Hey," I said, poking my head out of the bathroom. "Mikey?"

He looked up from the video game, probably having put it on pause. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I, uh. Need stitches. For my back."

He blinked. "Oh. Man. Okay. I'll get Don for you."

"Wait," I hissed. There was no way that'd be a good idea. "Could you get Tammy instead?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure." He turned to Jeff. "I'll be back to kick your ass in one sec, dude."

Jeff snorted. "Yeah, you wish."

Mikey leapt up to the second floor, presumably to get Tammy. It was a few minutes before Tammy came down, hands covered in something I didn't want to even guess at.

"Sorry," she said. "My hands aren't really clean at the moment. Can I use the sink?"

I nodded, still wrapped in towel, and sat down on the edge of the tub to wait for Tammy to clean her hands. Mikey showed up with the medical supplies a second later, and I held onto them while Tammy finished washing her hands off.

"Guess you don't have to work with Elder anymore," I said as she fitted the needle. My tail was swishing around and I snatched it, stuffing it beneath me to keep it out of the way.

"Hold still, we don't have any pain stuff." I tried not to wince as the needle and thread tugged through my skin. "Yeah, I guess. I wonder if this means I quit or was fired?"

"Probably fired," I said, after a pause for thought. "Unless you actually said you were quitting."

"In that case, I quit. It'll look better on my resume." I couldn't help the flinch as she put in the next stitch, and Tammy sighed. "You've really torn yourself up back here. But you don't seem to be bleeding as much as expected. Could be..." What followed was a muttered list of medical conditions that belonged on _House_.

"I'm starting to doubt this thing will ever get the chance to heal," I muttered. "I mean, the Foot probably have Elder by now. We're going to have to do this all over again. Probably soon."

"No, it's started healing, I can see that much." She paused, to thread another stitch in, slower this time. "There has to be some way of stopping him."

I shivered as she smeared some kind of gel on my back. "Yeah, but I doubt it'll be easy. I mean, there've been a ton of other baddies the TMNT went up against. Most of them still aren't dead. It's never as simple as just killing the guy."

The movement of her fingers came to an abrupt halt. "You really need to start taking care of your back, I'm not sewing you up again!" She tied off the last stitch and I moved the towel I was holding against my chest so she could wrap me in bandages.

I made a face at the tiled floor. "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. I'll stick to low-movement activity."

"You'd better, or I'll teach you the real meaning of pain," she joked. I grinned.

In a few moments, the bandages were all done, and I pulled my shirt back on.

"…Hey, I was thinking about making lunch," I said, gathering my stuff up from around the bathroom. "Or, uh, whatever meal-time it is. And I was wondering what you'd like to eat."

Tammy patted down her pants pockets and wrists. "Lost my watch... I could eat just about anything really. I'd offer to help but my gun... I can already hear Dad lecturing me..."

"Oh no, it's no problem. I mean, after all you've done, the least I can do is make, uh, brunner." I smiled. "I'll see if Mikey has a cookbook and then, who knows?"

Tammy frowned. "…'Brunner'?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Breakfast-lunch-dinner. Brunner. Just being silly, don't mind me. Anyway, thanks for the stitches, and for everything else you've done. I'll get on cooking in a couple secs."

I bid Tammy adieu and carried my ruined clothing up to my room and stashed it in a trash bag for later disposal.

Mikey did turn out to have a cookbook—several actually. One was an old beginner's cookbook that I had no doubt had been a childhood gift, a much older, weathered copy that had probably originally been Splinter's, and a book of Asian recipes that looked almost brand new. I wasn't sure I was up to the challenge of making something I didn't even know to pronounce, so the oldest book was soon open on the counter as I perused the recipes, looking for something that could be made with what there was in the fridge and cabinets and wouldn't take too long to make. I settled on rice, homemade chicken fingers, and a basic salad.

I smiled down at the rice as I rinsed it out and tried not to think about how many times I'd had this meal at home.


	74. Tammy makes nice

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT. Dr. Elder, Jeff, and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and does a lot of really good stuff.

* * *

Chapter Seventy-four; Tammy

* * *

"Ap-bap-bap-bap! I see you." Thatcher jumped back from the t-shirt I'd covered my work with while treating Quinn. He scurried a few steps off and pretended he hadn't been nosing at it. "You keep your distance. Poisonous chemicals." I warned him. With a gesture he jumped on the cot and I smiled, he may have left a few messes in the night, but he was learning something at least.

Once the dragon was out of the way I moved the shirt to reveal my disassembled gun spread out on newspapers. It was difficult to tell which parts I'd already cleaned or hadn't, but until I had access to my gun supplies a can of borrowed brake cleaner and the shirt would have to do. The shirt was ruined, but Raph had been acting more standoffish than usual when I'd asked for the cleaner. I didn't want to push my luck asking for a clean rag as well.

After doing my best with the pins I reached for the trigger guard. My finger hit something wet as I picked it up and the part fell to the floor, leaving a deep red streak across the print on my index finger. Gunpowder and its ash were black and grey… not red…

My hand formed a fist for a moment. In that moment everything spilled over my carefully erected dam. The Foot ninja and the battle. The guys. Quinn. My job, my career. Shooting real people, not targets. Jeff. The animals back at the clinic. The growing sense that I was the only person who cared what happened to Dr. Elder…

The dam took a little longer to repair than I'd prefer, but finally it went back into place and I picked the trigger guard up again. My hands shook, but I forced myself to keep hold of it. Once it was as good as it was going to get I picked up the barrel, then put it down again and groaned. There was just no way it was coming clean without a .22 caliber brush. It just wasn't going to happen.

A dirty white laundry bag was set down beside me and I stared at it in shock before looking up to its provider. Leo stood uncomfortably. "I wasn't going to get you the bullets and forget the other stuff." He muttered, looking both embarrassed and a little insulted.

Slowly I wiped my hands on the shirt. "Sorry." Maybe thanks would have been more appropriate, but the apology was all I could get out.

"So… you patched Quinn up again?" He asked, trying to sound like he wasn't anxious for answers.

"Yeah. She's healing but this is the second time her stitches have torn." I replied. In the back of my mind words like 'platelet count' and 'clotting' danced with phrases about 'oxygen efficiency' and 'metabolic rate'. Her mutation was fascinating me more as time passed instead of less and that interest was just one more thought buzzing around my already cluttered mind. "If it happens again I'm going to have to use full wrap and restrict her movements."

Leo nodded. "I'll keep an eye on her, make sure she takes it easy." He said, "And I'll tell Don too." If he stops hiding in his lab that'll do a world of good.

After assuring himself that the known injured party was going to live, he asked as though an afterthought, "And you?" He's really not subtle. Next he'll be hinting that I keep an eye on his brothers in case I see some mystical injury invisible to him.

"I'm fine. Nothing but a couple split knuckles." And a ton of deep bruises all over, and a few minor cuts that I seriously hoped weren't going to scar badly enough to draw questions in the future.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Positive I'm glossing over a few points.

He nodded, mentally assessing. "Okay. Now so long as my brothers aren't hiding anything serious it looks like everything's covered." And there was the hinting.

"Right." I muttered, then shook my head. "No, not right." Standing up and facing Leo right then was one of the hardest things I've done in my life, recent adventures included. "Leo, I'm sorry. I'm really, honestly, sorry. You were trying to protect me and I only got angry. Then I ran off and nearly got myself and everybody else killed tonight. Thank you for worrying, and coming after me. It… I'm really sorry." It was almost physically painful to maintain eye contact by the time I'd stumbled to a halt.

For way too long than was comfortable he seemed to consider me and what I'd said. Finally, with a slight nod of his head he replied. "Actually, I have to apologize too. I could –should, have handled the situation beforehand better, and when you asked about Elder I should have gotten all the information."

A moment of silence passed before I started shifting on my feet. "So… friends?" I asked, wanting to bury the matter.

He nodded, "Friends." We actually did the lame stick-in-the-mud thing by shaking on it, but that's okay. After that, we actually talked without me lying or him getting under my skin. I showed him how to properly clean a gun, including making him look down the barrel before and after cleaning it. Like I'd always been, he was thoroughly impressed with how shiny and pretty the inside of a clean barrel was. Subjects we discussed ranged far and wide; from potentially tying Quinn to her bed and drugging her into a twenty-four hour sleep, to a rather touch-and-go review of the previous night. He suggested a few areas I may need further training in (um, like, _everything_?) and I asked how he'd felt in his first fight. He told me about how Master Splinter had made them all sit down and talk it out. Everyone had, except for Raph. We then moved on to the topic of brothers, laughter and teasing abounded as well as a discussion on grouchy, reclusive types.

Finally I reassembled my pistol and cocked the hammer. It clicked solidly when I pulled the trigger, letting me know without a doubt that everything was back in place and properly cared for. I loaded it up with six bullets, put the safety on and wrapped it in a clean shirt before tucking it away in my backpack. It was good to have the gun back in my possession but even better to have things cleared up between Leo and me.

Leo looked up and sniffed. "Somebody's cooking something good." He noted. "And it's not pizza."

"Quinn said she would." Just then my stomach rumbled. I hadn't had anything to eat since the previous night and 'not pizza' sounded like the most delicious food in the world, whatever it was. Thatcher apparently agreed because he'd gone to investigate quite a while ago. After cleaning up the mess on the floor I followed Leo out and we both headed for the kitchen to do some investigating of our own.

Quinn was just finishing up so Leo and I set the table. Mikey and Jeff came over babbling something about a video game that made no sense to me. Apparently Jeff had relaxed a little, but he was still avoiding me. I was fine with that. Frankly, if he weren't avoiding me I'd be avoiding him. Raph was standing nearby and from time to time I could see Don poking his head out of his lab like some kind of ground squirrel trying to decide if it was worth dealing with the other creatures to get a yummy snack.

I grabbed the milk out of the fridge and caught sight of some chicken being put on a platter. "Looks great!" I noted before heading back to the table. Something told me there was no reason to be this chipper right now, but the rest of me was perfectly happy to be back in the lair, surrounded by people I considered friends. Whatever, I'm a girl, I'm entitled to mood swings.


	75. Old Fashioned Ending

I do not own Dr. Elder, nor any characters from the TMNT. Dr. Elder, Jeff, and Quinn belong to CheshireDreaming. The TMNT belong to Viacom.

Don't forget to check out CheshireDreaming's account at; CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com -She's the co-author and does a lot of really good stuff.

* * *

Chapter Seventy-five; Quinn

* * *

Seating Jeff at the table proved to be a challenge, not only because he was so big and we were somewhat lacking in terms of chairs, but because his tail was so thick it got in the way when he tried to fit on the small chairs.

"We'll have to talk to Leatherhead about this later," I heard Leo mutter. Hm, so he did exist here.

In the end, we wound up bringing up one of the sturdier swiveling chairs from Don's lab. Don promised to make Jeff a better chair later as we sat down to eat.

I was pleased to find that everything had come out just fine. The chicken was a little dry, but I was convinced I'd get better with practice. And, if I was realistic with myself, I was going to have a lot of practice. After all, there was no foreseeable way I was going to be able to get home. I couldn't trust Elder or the Foot to undo what they'd done. And besides, how did something like a soul transfer work? If my soul from over there was now here, in a different body, then my original self must either be dead or in a coma.

Rather a morbid train of thought to board during dinner. I finished chewing my forkful of salad and swallowed mechanically. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.

"This rice is delicious, Miss Quinn," Splinter said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Thanks," I said, smiling a bit. I glanced around the table at everyone—four turtles, a rat, a gargoyle, a girl, and a big scaly dog begging desperately for food off someone's plate. Mikey may or may not have slipped him a chicken finger, but I pretended not to see.

Almost everyone commented my cooking at some point, leaving me with a silly smile that wouldn't completely go away. The only ones who didn't say anything about it were Jeff and Thatcher, but Jeff looked deep in thought and Thatcher couldn't talk, and besides, they kept eating, so I could only assume they thought it was fine too.

Dessert was ice cream of the vanilla bean variety, but somehow the lair had accumulated its own hoard of sugary toppings (Mikey was the prime suspect in my eyes), and the wealth of flavors from the toppings made up for the otherwise plain ice cream. Mikey tried to keep the dessert talk light, but we were all somewhat trapped under the sense of foreboding concerning the serious talk that was sure to follow the meal.

Don and Leo cleared the table, and Raph volunteered to wash the dishes, which took me by surprise. Mikey put the dishes away. Tammy and I tried to help, but the turtles insisted it was fine, that they could do it. I left them to it, curling up on the couch for a catnap.

It seemed like my eyes had barely closed before I was being woken up again. I opened them to see Mikey's big blue peepers at a closer range than ever before. I jumped a little, backing up against the couch, before I realized who it was.

"Good morning!" he said cheerily. "We're going to talk in the dojo, and it's important."

I could guess what about. "I'm on it." I took a deep breath, squeezed my eyes open and shut, and leapt quickly off the couch in an attempt to stay awake. Mikey walked with me to the dojo, and he sat down next to Jeff. I settled in the empty spot between Mikey and Don. I caught Don's eye and smiled. He gave a much smaller one in return. Well, it was a good start, anyway. I was beyond sick of all this awkwardness.

My attention was drawn to more important matters when Splinter broached the subject we'd all been dreading with a single sentence.

"This will not be the last we see of Dr. Elder," he said simply.

"Yeah, well next time his ugly mug shows up, I'm gonna plant my fist in it."

Splinter gave his son a look and Raphael fell into stormy silence. "He has most likely been taken in by Karai and her Foot soldiers. They may employ his services in the future."

"I'm sorry we failed, master," Leo muttered.

"On the contrary, my son," Splinter said, resting a hand on Leo's shoulder. "You have exceeded what was expected of you. The goal of your mission was to retrieve only Miss Tammy, and you have returned with her as well as Jeffery-san. Your actions have been most commendable. As have yours, Miss Tammy and Miss Quinn," he added.

"Thank you," we said, in near-unison.

"Jeffery-san, I would like to speak with you alone."

The turtles immediately began to stand, and I took this as a cue to leave. I gave Jeff a pat on the shoulder and what I hoped was a friendly smile on the way out.

Once outside the dojo, we dispersed to different parts of the lair. Raph, Leo, and Tammy went to their respective rooms, Mikey parked himself on the couch for a Halo marathon, and Don disappeared into the lab. As for me…I followed Don.

"Hey," I said, catching up with him as he turned his computer on.

He startled a little. "Oh, hey."

"So…I was just thinking," I said, tripping over the words. _Come on, you can do this!_ "Thing's've been kind of awkward between us since the whole kitty-hormone incident, and I was hoping I could clear the air. Just…I…would really like to be your friend again."

"Yeah," he said, and I desperately hoped that slight put-out tone to his voice wasn't just my imagination.

"And, um," I plowed on, not even bothering to combat the heat rising to my cheeks, "if you want to be…like, more than that…or something…that'd be okay too."

Don stared at me. And stared.

And stared and stared and stared.

My fighting spirit evaporated pretty quickly, and I caved. "Or, you know, if you don't feel that way, that's cool I guess. I mean, I don't want to pressure you or anything."

He stared some more.

"Maybe I'll just…go…" I gestured awkwardly to the door and turned to leave, trying to keep my head above the mire of self-pity I was swimming in. Ugh.

"Wait!" he yelped, and suddenly there was a hand around my wrist and I was rooted to the spot. My heartbeat was doing a lovely tap dance in my ears.

We stood there for a moment. Two moments. An eternity.

"More than friends," he said, finally. I didn't dare speak and ruin the moment. "I want…that."

I turned slowly, eyes wide. His face was so close.

"You sure about this?" I asked, barely speaking above a whisper.

"If you are." He gave me a smile, looking every bit as nervous and hopeful as I felt.

"Oh my God," I said. "Is this actually happening?"

"I hope so."

His eyes were deep brown. I leaned into them until we were kissing.


	76. Roll Credits

I do not own the TMNT, Quinn and Jeff belong to Cheshire Dreaming, Thatcher and Tammy belong to me. CheshireDreaming can be found at CheshireDreaming dot deviantart dot com. Seriously, go check her out... now.

Sorry folks, looks like this is the end. This story would likely have continued and become an amazing epic of adventure, friendship, action, and mush (*cough* Don and Quinn, sitting in a tree... *cough* ) but I ran out of time. Rather than have CheshireDreaming waiting six months for me to post the next chapter, we had to cut the story short. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we have writing it. Thanks for reading and especially thanks to those who took the time to review or PM me. If you PM'd me about the story I did forward the good words on to Cheshire Dreaming.

Also; Cheshire Dreaming: you are awesome! Don't deny it, just accept it.

* * *

Chapter Seventy-six; Tammy

* * *

"You're kidding." I stared straight ahead, not blinking as the shell cell Leo had lent me answered.

_"No, this hospital would love to hire you. Dr. Elder's clinic has something of a reputation around town for losing technicians. Stressful working conditions I'm told but I'm sure you know that."_ Stressful work conditions? Does that mean nobody's reported him yet? Then again, the only concrete evidence of his insanity that I found has to be kept a secret, for Quinn and Thatcher's sake.

Oh crap. I forgot about Jeff's files. I can't even guess what all went into making _him_.

"_… so how does next Monday sound? We'd like to get you in for the interview sooner, but it's vacation time for the vets and half of them are out._"

"Monday, sounds great."

"_Great, I look forward to working with you._"

"Same here, bye." We hung up and I looked up in shock. "I have a job interview." I told Leo, I still sounded stunned myself. This wasn't the calling Mom and Dad for money to get home plan I'd expected. "They're willing to work with the college too."

"That's great. It'll be safer for you to work someplace with more people around." He smiled and took the shell cell as I handed it to him. "We'll see about going to your apartment to get the rest of your things." Leo said, hooking the device to his belt.

I had a job interview the following Monday… and I was staying at the lair. Not under some kind of protective custody, I was staying at the lair! "What's so funny?" Leo asked, confused at my barely contained laughter

Instead of answering right off I gave him a hug. "Thanks, for everything." I told him in all sincerity.

"Uh…" When I pulled back I was able to see that he was blushing, the sight was amusing. I wanted to comment on it and see if he'd blush more, but a ruckus from the main room caught our attentions.

After hurrying out we spotted the cause of the noise. Mikey was running around, laughing and shouting something. Behind him raced Quinn and Donny. Don had his staff in hand and Quinn looked like she was ready to claw somebody's eyes out. Barking and yipping behind them ran Thatcher, his wings spread slightly as he tried to join the fun. It took me a moment to listen through Quinn and Don's shouts and threats as well as Thatch to hear what Mikey was saying.

"… Soon we'll be making another run! The Love Boat! Promises something for everyone! Set your course for –EEK!" Don's staff came just a little too close for comfort. He sprinted ahead several yard before switching it up a little by belting out "Love Story."

Leo watched them in bemusement for a little while before hazarding a guess. "So, I guess this means Don and Quinn are a couple?"

"Either that or they really hate Mikey's singing." Raph answered, coming up beside us and watching the action as well. "Faster Don! Ya better catch him, Quinn, or we'll add running to your trainin'!"

"How does he do that?" I marveled. "I can't even sing and _walk_ at the same time."

"Do you sing in tune?" Leo asked.

"Good point."

Around the lair they ran, Mikey stopped his singing only when he was nearly struck and then when he started again it was on a completely different song. He seemed to have an endless assortment of bad love songs built up. Then again, he'd probably been waiting for years for a real reason to tease one of his brothers like this. "Drop the camera Mikey!" "You are so dead!" "EEK!"

They ran past Master Splinter's quarters. Just as Thatcher was yapping past the door opened as Master Splinter tried to figure out what was going on. Behind and above him Jeff watched in bemusement.

Leo put a hand on my shoulder to get my attention. "Are you sure you want to stay here? April's place would be quieter." He suggested. "We could set you up in the basement apartment there."

"We're no strangers to love! You know the rules and SO! Do I!" Wow, the language down there just got a whole lot more colorful.

I grinned at Leo. "Now, why would I want that?" Mikey and his paparazzi haters were running past at that point. It took them almost another lap around the lair before Don and Quinn realized that Mikey no longer had the camera.

In fact, Raph did. He looked at the picture on the memory and whistled. Leo and I were looking over his shoulder. "Who'd a' thought Don'd be the first ta get a little action?" Raph asked. Leo shrugged.

"Delete it!" "Stop looking at it!"

Suddenly the camera was shoved at me, right into the bruised portion of my gut. "BLAME HER!" Raph announced, he took off running.

"WHAT?" Quinn and Don were glaring shuriken at me. Behind them Mikey was cracking up. "Why… but I didn't…" I glanced down at the screen on the camera. "Uh…" It was actually a really nice picture. Nice angle, good lighting, a very sweet moment. Someday they might actually want it for a memento or something. That day was not today.

"Guard the camera!" Leo announced. Suddenly I was in his arms and he was running. I heard barking and more shouting to announce that the chase was back on.

"Run Leo! Run!" Mikey shouted.

"Ninja keep-away!" Raph announced.

I hooked an arm around Leo's shoulders to pull myself up a bit while holding the camera to my stomach protectively. From my new position I could see Quinn and Don still following us, but they didn't seem as angry now, that was promising.

"Run Leo! Run!"

"Come on Don! Pick it up Quinn!"

"Don't make me drop you." Leo warned.

The innocent act wasn't sticking to well with my grin shoving it out of place. "What? You don't think they can catch you, do you?" The challenge was thrown down and a look of determination suddenly cemented itself into place. It was all I could do to resist laughing like a madwoman, although I will confess to screeching when Leo got trapped in the monitoring area and back flipped over the couch.

I wasn't sure how long I could stay here, and I couldn't let the matter with Dr. Elder drop; somebody had to look out for his best interests after all. I wasn't sure what was going to happen in the next few months but as frightening as it could be, somehow all I could think of was how fun it was going to be –an adventure with my friends.


End file.
